Posted: Thu 29 Apr 2010
Appeared in the APSCo newsletter April 2010
As a performance development professional, I have always been passionate about leadership. Equally, I am a great believer in sharing ideas and expertise in order to solve business challenges. Whatever the economic backdrop in 2010, our leaders and managers are tasked with some major challenges ahead. The sector is experiencing change at a speed never witnessed before. So what will the main challenges be and where should leaders put their focus?
Cue the inaugural Lander Leadership Symposium held at the end of last year brought together a number of business leaders from the world of recruitment, HR and academia to share their knowledge and expertise.
What became clear throughout our day was that the challenges facing our leaders centre around three main themes – change, innovation and engagement. Change management is not a new theme to leaders – but the pace of that change is - and that means looking at structures that are flexible enough to react to swiftly evolving market conditions. And what of innovation? With tighter budgets, increasing competition and reduced resources, it is imperative to be more creative – but that means taking risks and being brave enough to allow experimentation.
Challenge can also be an opportunity because it is change that will drive innovation just as innovation will lead change. But in order for leaders to realise those opportunities we have to engage the hearts and minds of, not just our existing talent but also, our future talent. And with workforces that will soon comprise of five generations – that could be the toughest challenge of all.
For a FREE copy our white paper, The Lander Report – Leadership for the New Decade, click here and fill in your details or email julia@landerassociates.co.uk