Leadership Development And Jumping Out of Airships

Permission to reproduce: This article may be published in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is given to the author, and apparently with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

by Brent Filson

Silentfilm melodrama is a German aircraft bombing of London during the First World War by Lit Projectors and strafed by fighters, the crippled aircraft loses altitude as the captain frantically jettisons dispensable gear to lighten weight. Finally, all that remains is the human weight. Therefore, the captain orders the crew members overboard. A grisly scene takes place in the aviators, one by one, without a parachute, the step up to the hatch, salute the captain and first mate, then jump to his death. Cleared, the aircraft returned safely to Germany.

That scene is not a relic. That happens often in business these days, obviously, not as metaphor but a reality. Companies, was shot in the crossfire of increasingly competitive markets, it should lighten their loads for income growth buoyancy. The masters are all but essential employees launch. Typically, one of the first functions to be ordered out is the role of training, including leadership training or leadership development.

Many business leaders see this type of training as dispensable as the crew of the aircraft at the melodrama.

But leadership is not dispensable for business success. It is absolutely essential. Good leaders are much more important for long-term success of companies that good products. All organizations that fail to obtain, maintain and develop good leaders eventually founder. This is not a secret. Most leaders know it.

Here’s the secret: The fact that leadership development is seen as dispensable is not the master of the shot. Is taking the crew. The fault is dependent on the direction of development. Just do not have defined leadership in the development of the means necessary to get results. Sure, have been identified for development, training results, but not the results that really matter, the results of the business.

When training people focus on the results of the training business results, which are always at the front when they are told what is superfluous to line up the jump.

What is leadership, but the results are not the results of training, business results. If leaders are not getting their business performance, are not leaders. Results can be defined in many ways, productivity, operational efficiency, sales growth, cost reductions, etc., but the leadership has no real value unless it is to help these leaders get results.

Here are two easy ways to position their role, increase your value to your company.

1. Define the results.

Forget about the results of training. Forget about the training objectives. Arts are essential. Throw it overboard. What are the results of business leaders who are developing? If they are people in manufacturing, and then focus on taking its development programs to help improve operational efficiency. If you have sales staff in these programs are focused on getting increases in their sales results within a certain time after completing their program. Anyone who has registered in its programs, challenge them to use the tools that enable them to obtain results in the short and long term.

For example, at the beginning of their programs, ask participants, “What results do you have to get? And what are the most important challenges is to make?”

Then put the tools to help them achieve those results. What you learn is useless unless it is linked to what is most valuable in their jobs and careers. It is worse than useless, it is a real stumbling block, because the learning requires they spend their time far from achieving its goals of real work.

2. Measure results.

There is no value in business without measurements. Trainers who ignore this truth get in line before opening the hatch when the company starts to fall. Trainers tend to show their value by demonstrating the profitability of their programs.

Profitable, baloney! I do not know of any organization that “profitable” ultimately does not mean “cheap.” Profitability is the worst way to position leadership development programs. Cost of program is the least valuable of all programs. Once you start defining our programs, by the way they are cheap, show us that we do not understand or leadership development and reduce our value to the company.

Leadership programs do not inexpensive. Make it expensive! to society if these programs are not instituted. We can only show their true importance, showing the harsh measure businessfocused results after reaching program participants.

At the end of its session, the participants have to write a “value received” letter to the detail difficult to measure the results they intend to achieve when using the tools of their leadership.

Follow-up after 35 days to ensure that the results have been obtained or are about to succeed.

If participants in a leadership course I do not get an RO which is at least five to ten times the investment made in that course, give them money. And why not? If they can not achieve large increases in hard, measured results, the course is to blame. It has not helped to develop as leaders. Without results, the leadership does not make sense.

Leadership development is too important to be degraded by having to meet the training objectives. Increase their importance by having to meet business objectives. In doing so, change the metaphorical stage of our aircraft. Instead of ordering the crew, the captain said, “We can not afford to miss this crew member. Stay here! First mate, jump!”

Brent Filson is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His company offers seminars and training programs on communication and leadership. His latest book is “The Leadership Talk.” It is the fifth book in the series of Leadership.