Effective leaders and managers are vital to ensuring employees are fully engaged at work. At Roffey Park, we believe that creating the opportunity for each individual to do his or her best work, every day, will improve business performance and make working life more enjoyable.
Leadership is about enabling people to achieve results in a world that is increasingly complex and constantly changing. We need leaders who are globally responsible, taking into account people, the planet and prosperity, but leadership is not necessarily linked to authority. Leadership is embedded in every one of us, and the key is creating ‘leaderful’ organisations, where people’s passion can be expressed in their work.
Effective leaders know themselves, and what they stand for. They:
- think strategically, and inspire others with a moral purpose
- have drive and energy to achieve results
- are honest and trustworthy, and stick to their commitments
- have a positive impact on the morale of people around them
- hold themselves accountable for results, whilst entrusting others
- set the culture in the team, collaborating with and listening to others
- have social skills, building relationships and resolving conflicts
- understand the impact tough decisions can have on others
- communicate effectively in times of change
Effective managers empower people, and enable them to do their jobs effectively. They:
- know the strengths and weaknesses of each of their team members
- encourage diversity and difference in the team
- have strong feedback and coaching skills to develop others
- tackle performance issues firmly and fairly
- include people in consultation before major decisions are made
- are in tune with individuals and what they are concerned about
- deliver results that benefit their customers
If you are keen to become a manager who has enthusiastic staff, you will need to communicate openly and honestly and show a sincere interest in people’s well-being. Employees want managers to treat them as the most important part of the organisation and provide them with opportunities for learning and development. When people are engaged, they go the extra mile to help their companies succeed, and achieve improved financial performance.
At Roffey Park, we offer a range of programmes that will enable you to be an inspiring leader, an engaging coach, and an empathetic manager. We have open programmes that individuals can attend at Roffey Park, from The New Manager to Strategic Leadership, events that introduce leading edge concepts such as Embodied Leadership and research that enables managers to adopt the latest thinking in leading complex cross cultural teams. Our bespoke leadership and management programmes develop talent, and increase capability at every level in the organisation from front line supervisors to the Board.
I was recently working on a leadership programme with a group of senior managers in the financial sector, who were very enthusiastic about the impact it was having on their careers. Just a few months after the first group had completed the programme, two of them had been promoted, one had made a career development move, and the projects they completed had generated tangible results for their organisation.
At the heart of leadership are Roffey Park programmes such as Personal Effectiveness and Power, and Mastering Self Management which provide valuable insight and learning for managers who want to understand their strengths and lead from the ‘inside out’. This is the foundation of authentic leadership, which makes people’s working lives more rewarding and satisfying.
Margi Gordon
Principal Consultant for Leadership and Management