A CEO answering questions about the positive growth of her company:
Reporter: “What made the difference in your growth and success?”
CEO: “It was the leadership of our team at every level of the organization.”
A CEO Answering questions about the negative growth of her company:
Reporter: “What made the difference in your growth and success?”
CEO: “It was the leadership of our team at every level of the organization.”
How you develop the leadership of your team will directly impact the long-term success of your organization. What does the long-term health of the leadership in your organization look like?
A healthy outlook means your team is participating in a steady stream of leadership activities that help it grow and become more capable. This will ensure your team is in good shape, getting stronger, ready for any contingency. It also needs regular checkups to assess its health.
Here are 5 questions to give you a quick triage of the leadership health of your organization.
- What are the top three frustrations you are experiencing within the company? How would those frustration change if the leadership surrounding them improved just a little bit?
Frustrations can be like nagging little health issues that are bothersome but not to the point of doing something about it right now. We procrastinate and see if it gets better. Sort of like gaining some weight, an irregular exercise program, and not sleeping well. In isolation they are small annoyances. Together they are impacting your overall well-being. Correcting one or each one a little bit starts you down a healthier path.
Frustrations are symptoms that affect your company’s wellbeing. Not addressing leadership issues lowers the standard and weakens the foundation. Little things turn into big things. Details separate the good from the great.
- Big picture: How would improving the leadership at every level in your company affect the organization and the bottom line?
A wholistic approach to health – diet, exercise, sleep, and monitoring levels of stress all work together. A great exercise plan on a diet of donuts and fast food probably won’t have you performing well in the long term. Addressing leadership development at every level is a healthy habit for organizations. It builds a foundation and sets a leadership development mindset.
- What are you doing to purposely develop the leadership culture of your company?
Do you have expectations for the leadership culture of your organization or are you fine with letting it develop on its own? If you do not intentionally set out to develop a culture, you may not be happy with what you get. This can be as important as your marketing plan.
- What are the leaders of the company doing to develop themselves as leaders?
Leadership by example sets the tone and culture. When leaders set the pace and are continually developing their skills and capacity, the organization follows. Leaders who do not participant in development build resentment in subordinates, ‘I guess they think they don’t need to improve’ is a commonly heard refrain. Additionally, leaders who ignore developing themselves are in danger of becoming the limiting factor of the organization.
- What do your current or potential clients and competitors say about the leadership culture of the organization?
Go ask questions and find out. Which are you:
- the healthy group setting the pace for everyone to keep up with, getting stronger and healthier each quarter
or
- not so healthy, struggling to keep pace, and looking over your shoulder at those gaining on you
Leadership differentiates individuals and organizations. A deliberate approach to leadership at every level builds a healthy organization and creates a built-in succession plan.
Ask these five questions of your leadership team as a quick method to evaluate the leadership health of your organization.
