Leadership is commonly defined as the ability to influence, motivate, enable, or empower others to achieve a specific goal [1] and it can have profound impacts in the workplace.
There are many managers and leaders who are highly competent, but I’m sure we’ve all met a manager at one point or another who couldn’t be less interested in their tasks, job, or company. This can, of course, have a major impact on the engagement and performance of the employees directly under them and then under them and so on.
Previous research conducted by Gallup across more than 190 different industries [2] found that managers who are directly supervised by highly engaged leadership teams are 39 per cent more likely to be engaged than managers who are supervised by actively disengaged leadership teams.
And the link between engaged managers and engaged employees is even more powerful. Employees who are supervised by highly engaged managers are 59 per cent more likely to be engaged than those supervised by actively disengaged managers.
Leadership can also have an impact on maintaining and retaining employees (and all their great knowledge and skills). For example, if leadership is poor, then an employee may feel lost or powerless and may decide to seek work elsewhere.
Are leaders born or made?
It’s a question we get asked all the time. In the past, research has suggested that leadership is 30 per cent genetic and 70 per cent a result of lessons learned through experiences.[3]
In investigating this ‘leaders are made and not born’ idea further, in 2014 University of Illinois researchers conducted a study of enrolled students and found that the above 70 per cent figure consists mainly of readiness, willingness and ability.
For example, the researchers found that the enrolled students first needed to be ready to learn about being a leader, then they became willing to learn the skills necessary to practice leadership and finally they were able to lead because they had the skills and motivation to do it.
What are the benefits of leadership training?
Many companies are now helping their managers and employees to become great leaders and to refine their leadership skills through leadership courses and training.
JEM Management Training offers a range of up-to-date training courses, including leadership courses in Perth. After completing the program, managers will be able to understand the difference between managing and leading, identify and refine their leadership style, set a clear vision for their team, use problem-solving techniques to deal with recurring issues, make staff feel valued and more!
- [1] Reed, Brent N et al. “A Systematic Review of Leadership Definitions, Competencies, and Assessment Methods in Pharmacy Education” American journal of pharmaceutical education vol. 83,9 (2019): 7520. doi:10.5688/ajpe7520
- [2] Gallup, “Only 35% of U.S. Managers Are Engaged in Their Jobs”, (2015).
- [3] Picklesimer, “Are leaders born or made? New study shows how leadership develops” University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences, (2014).
