What to do with all of these brand new leaders

Baby Boomers are retiring at a rapid rate (much faster than anticipated – some say the pandemic is the impetus). Millennials, the largest generation in the workforce, are now getting promoted into leadership (people management) positions and they are largely inexperienced, unprepared, and feeling very insecure (I know because they tell me all the time!). Up until this point, we as a society, have not done a great job developing leaders and we’ve failed at creating and nurturing internal leadership pipelines.

61% of companies offer NO leadership training.

LinkedIn Learning Report

Let me paint the picture here. These millennials are finding themselves newly in charge in a complex, tough, volatile workplace environment with ever-changing policies and reporting to leaders who are most likely disengaged and have not received much people management training themselves. These millennials are also experiencing the largest increase in burnout this past year. That’s A LOT for them to deal with.

Developing leaders is crucial now more than ever for organizations. Promoting people into leadership positions and then throwing them to the wolves is no longer a constructive tactic if you want your organization to thrive, be competitive, innovative, and agile.

78% of employees say they'd remain longer with an employer if they saw stronger career paths.

Mercer

If your organization has vague or unclear paths for promotion, consider clarifying your promotion strategy and desired competencies and the specifics for what behaviors must be met for what promotions. Create and nurture a leadership pipeline in your organization.

55% of CEOs say that developing the next generation of leaders is their TOP challenge.

DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2021

Choosing not to invest in leadership & employee development right now will allow other organizations to surpass you and obtain a competitive advantage over you. Don’t choose to remain stagnant. Not developing leaders & employees is: expensive and inefficient and causes unnecessary stress and conflict, which flows into personal lives. Choosing to have an unmotivated, disengaged staff also negatively affects your customer service levels (another example of how costly it is to choose stagnation).

As crucial as it is to develop these fresh leaders, it’s not going to do much if the middle/senior leaders (the people with more authority) are lacking development: aka are dysfunctional and ineffective. The bottom line is – all leaders need to be developed and this includes ongoing development because of a rapidly changing environment; new issues arise consistently as we navigate these changes. Leaders need development and reassurance to build their confidence.

If you need more information on exploring what this looks like for your organization, please reach out.

Many organizations struggle with issues like high turnover, burnout, low productivity, gossip/politics, and ineffective leadership. Amber offers an easy-to-start streamlined solution through one-on-one leadership coaching, administering & debriefing Hogan assessments, dynamic leadership workshops, and personalized strategic guidance. The result? Reduced turnover, improved productivity and innovation, and a strategic and thriving workplace. Ready to discover how coaching can benefit your organization?

What to do with all of these brand new leaders

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