Is Your Print Business Keeping Up with Changing Times?
When was the last time your company offered leadership training? Did you offer it only to members of your senior-level “leadership team”? Or, did you train front-line managers to be effective leaders?
The reason I ask is because profound shifts in employer/employee relations are occurring in the post-pandemic workplace. The early retirement of many Boomer-age employees combined with younger employees’ quest for more fulfilling, purpose-driven work are making the digital transformation of the printing business more challenging than ever.
Updated leadership training is required to achieve the high levels of employee engagement that can help your shop reduce turnover, retain key employees, and improve productivity. And top executives aren’t the only ones who need updated leadership training. Front-line managers need leadership training too.
A recent Gallup survey of employee engagement discovered that the role of a manager has expanded beyond everyday supervision. Click To Tweet
Gallup found that 70% of a team’s engagement is influenced by its managers. The old-school practice of command-and-control operations doesn’t work with today’s post-pandemic workforce. Employees today want the manager to be more of a coach than a boss.
HR Management experts define leadership as “persuading individuals to pursue a common goal.” They contend that leadership is often confused with job status or title. Some senior managers are better at promoting their careers than leading employees. So, companies should screen who they train for leadership. Employees who have good people skills, a team-oriented approach, and a curious mind might be better candidates for leadership training than employees who are drawn primarily to the jobs with the highest pay and status.
In Inc. magazine, John Hall suggests five leadership trends that should be incorporated in programs used to train leaders in 2022. Leaders today should learn to
- embrace diversity
- admit mistakes and learn from them
- pay attention to employee burnout and mental health
- give employees opportunities to learn and grow; and
- maintain a growth mindset, even when resources are lean.
Here are some other tips for adjusting leadership training.
Involve teams in the process of developing leaders. Trainees must understand that leadership is less about academic theories, and more about boots-on-the-ground performance in real-world situations.
Customize the training to match the goals of your organization and the specific tools you use to manage collaboration. Trainees must show how leadership skills such as listening and coaching can be implemented in workplaces that involve a mix of on-site and remote workers.
Ask trainees to develop an action plan to show how they plan to implement what they have learned. If the training is done well, attendees will be inspired to put what they have learned into action. Follow up to provide support, evaluate progress, and reinforce the value of leadership training.
Continue to update your leadership training to keep pace with the ongoing transformation of the workplace. Leadership training developed for Boomer-generation leaders isn’t effective in today’s world of ubiquitous social media, hybrid work, and asynchronous work schedules.
With cloud-based digital collaboration tools, leaders and managers can reach out and connect with employees any day and any time. This isn’t always a good thing. Leaders who don’t respect each employee’s personal preferences and work/life boundaries will face pushback. Every interaction with an employee makes an impact, either good or bad.
Why Leadership Training Matters
Whether you plan to sell your business in the next 3 years or don’t plan to sell until at least 10 years from now, it’s critical to develop capable leaders. Prospective buyers will evaluate the quality of the leadership team as part of the due diligence process. If you have established a tradition of developing good leaders within your company, buyers will notice.
Leadership training is an important part of succession planning. Download our free white paper, Succession Planning Simplified for a practical roadmap to help you get started.
Looking for more insights on the types of well-trained leaders that print-business buyers are looking for? How about a referral to people with experience in developing print-business leaders? Call me at 561-543-2323I and let’s chat.
Recommended Resources
Gallup: Why Managers Need Leadership Development Too
Inc. Magazine: 5 Leadership Lessons to Embrace in 2022 and Beyond
HR Management: The Problems with Leadership Development