“Simply put, successful organizations have strong leaders,” says Brigitta Theleman, director for UNC Kenan-Flagler’s OneMBA program. Organizations with strong leaders outperform other organizations in workforce retention, employee engagement, and organizational performance (including financial performance, customer satisfaction, service quality and productivity). Unfortunately, identifying the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) needed in strong leaders and creating corporate cultures that encourage the development of these is a challenge for which many organizations struggle; only about two-fifths of respondents to a recent American Management Association survey agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that their “leadership development program is highly effective.” The Knowledge, Skills and Abilities of Strong Leaders Strong leaders, according to various studies, possess the following KSAs: The ability to drive and Read More
Monthly Archives: August 2011
The Role of Learning and Development in Succession Planning
Effective succession plans are more than filling out forms. They are real, living programs that combine learning and development (L&D) opportunities and experiential learning to prepare leaders at all levels for tomorrow’s business challenges. “It’s unfortunate, but less than half of all organizations have succession plans in place, and those that do usually focus their efforts at only the highest management levels,” notes David Leonard, Ph.D., program director for Executive Development at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. “We have a perfect storm brewing. As the economy recovers, employees who have been hunkering down will seek new opportunities elsewhere, and Baby Boomers may finally feel comfortable to retire,” says Leonard. “Employers have to be ready for the exodus, and that’s where succession Read More
How to make the business case for learning and development
Creating a strong business case for learning and development (L&D) initiatives shouldn’t happen after they occur. Business leaders should calculate the ROI for training and development activities during the planning stage and tie these activities to the organization’s strategic plan. “Unfortunately, the ROI of L&D activities are calculated after the fact about 90 percent of the time,” reports Susan Palmer, program director for Executive Development at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. “You wouldn’t invest in a new product or service without evaluating its place in your organization’s long-term strategy or estimating its ROI. L&D activities should be no exception,” notes Palmer. The following steps can be used to align L&D activities to your organization’s strategic plan and calculate their ROI: 1. Read More