Leadership: Nurture vs Nature
Natural leaders are hard to come by. At least that’s the common perception. We don’t see it that way. Leadership like other skills is affected by natural ability, but that natural ability must be nurtured and developed.
Every once in great while, a musical prodigy will be born with the raw talent to re-write our understanding of sound without formal education. But for the clear majority of musicians, they had some natural musical ability, but then needed development and education to create beautiful and insightful song.
Most people with some natural inclination towards leadership can be groomed and nurtured with the right training and coaching programs into effective organizational leaders. This is where leadership programs come in.
Leadership development programs contribute to the lasting success of your organization.
Various researches over the past years have shown that leadership development in an organization plays a key part in increasing productivity levels, thus, directly impacting the ROI.
Here are a few reasons to invest in leadership development:
1. Cost Effectiveness: Investing in leadership programs to nurture and train the current employees to take on strategic positions in the future will cost less than bringing someone new from the outside. Imagine the effort and money that will go in searching for an apt candidate outside the organization. Conducting interviews, dealing with hiring consultants, working out the payouts and then helping the new recruit adapt to company’s culture can be tiresome. And if the new recruit leaves within a few months, all the time and money spent is a waste. Nobody wants to be in this situation!
2. Inspires and Motivates: If an organization invests in skills enhancement of its leaders, it sends a clear message to the employees that it cares about them and is interested in investing time and money in their growth and long-term retention. This can be a motivating factor for employees to perform better at their jobs, acting as a catalyst for long-term retention of talent.
3. Promotes Culture and Camaraderie: Leadership development is one of the factors that reinforce an organization’s culture, vision and values. Such programs bring the future leaders on a common platform enabling them to develop a sense of loyalty and unity by being a part of a team that’s responsible for shaping the future of the organization. These programs provide ample opportunities to connect, share ideas, strike friendships and enhance communication between the participants.
Even if your organization is comprised of 100% natural born leaders, leadership development can further develop them and add upon their natural ability.
