By MBA Ind. Eng. Fabián Chafir, Lean Manufacturing Consultant
Why is the leadership a skill that organization most appreciates in a candidate even though for non-Management positions? What would happen if a manager wants to lead his/her team without this skill?
In recent days I’ve had a conversation with a friend who is also a Human Resource expert and we were discussing if the leadership skill can be developed or not and, if it is something that we can develop, why the companies do not invest money on it.
“Leadership is not only for managers.”
Leadership, in my opinion, should be a skill that every employee should have. It does not matter whether it is developed by the company or the candidate already has it. Leadership is not only for managers.
Employees, regardless hierarchy, should exactly understand the causes of a problem, and take small, medium or big actions to change the current reality.
The organization is in itself the people that are working in it and they are the ones that can change and create new futures. Skillful people achieve more powerful results that is why every company should assure a certain level of leadership skills in their employees.
A leader is a person who is focused on the vision of the company and can imagine various futures for the team, department, organization; the scale doesn’t matter. Motivation is the main tool to achieve the engagement of others.
Another characteristic of leaders is that they take risks and work out of their comfort zones dealing with new tasks and activities with high spirit working on adjusting the systems and processes to deal with new scenarios.
Strengthening relationships with stakeholders and peers is how leaders can transcend the organization because working in companies is about results, but it is also about people.
“All companies need managers to drive the business to safe destinations but it is also true, they need people with leadership in their blood to find new ways of developing products, processes and people.”
Networking is very important and nobody can denied it but sometimes, this resource is not enough to achieve different targets. That is why leaders are also people with high change management culture, people who are not afraid of shake up of the whole company in order to challenge and improve the status quo.
Coaching people is, in most of the cases, the highway to their feelings and that is when the contribution is related with skills up, personal growing, and barriers reduction.
All companies need managers to drive the business to safe destinations but it is also true, they need people with leadership in their blood to find new ways of developing products, processes and people.
My friend, the expert in Human Resource, was right. I must admit that he convinced me, we need leaders in all the levels of the companies. I hope, Brno could take this direction and reinforce those concepts internally.
