Fostering Leadership in the Workplace at every level

When we think of leadership, many of us would think of leaders from history - Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher and Steve Jobs. When we look back on history, we also think about other great historical leaders like the Duke of Wellington, George Washington, Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great. There has always been a kind of natural association between leadership and crisis. There are so many examples of leadership and conflict, with great debate around some historical figures and their leadership qualities.

What is evident, however, is the link between leadership and military operations, and while for many of us, leadership in organisations is a far cry from leading armies, there are lessons we can learn.

One book that I've read and would recommend is Extreme Ownership (by Jocko Willing and Leif Babin). Their first-person accounts of leadership from their time in the US Navy SEALs offer lessons in leadership. What's more, they actually explain how these lessons transfer into leadership in organisations.

Willink, J. & Babin, L. (2017) Extreme Ownership. St. Martins Press | New York Buy it today on Amazon

Senior leaders help to define and propagate organisational culture and provide clarity of vision and priorities. Junior leaders are focused more on influencing their teams to achieve goals that the senior leaders have agreed on.

Understanding the role of front-line leaders

Front-line leaders make up about 50-60% of a typical organisation (Harvard Business Publishing). Collectively, these leaders have more influence over the organisation than the CEO; they represent the organisation to the workforce. They play a key role in the recruitment and onboarding of new starters, culture development, employee engagement and development, and career development. All of these areas are key in creating a positive employee experience and retaining top talent. This has a direct impact on productivity and therefore, at an organisational level, profitability.

The front-line leader drives organisational culture; creating a sense of value and inclusion for their teams. They are role models and hold themselves and their teams accountable. Front-line leaders are advocates for their people. They build motivating relationships with their teams and are vocal about the value of their teams externally, while also acting as a spokesperson.

Supporting the front-line leader

In most cases, a high performer is offered a promotion in an organisation as a reward for their achievements, but what is not always the case is that the organisation prepares

high performers to become leaders. In the military, the transition from worker to leader is an important one, and a priority, with military units now investing in leadership development for emerging leaders.

But outside of the military, this priority and investment are not always evident. Supporting the development of emerging leaders is crucial when it comes to front-line leadership. High performers tend to have technical knowledge and expertise but are then thrust into a management and leadership position with little knowledge and experience of leading people. Creating leadership development programmes for emerging leaders can help these high performers to prepare to lead. Ongoing coaching and mentoring can offer guidance and support during the transition from worker to leader, which can be complemented with personal development planning enabling continuous improvement.

Giving front-line leaders authority and empowering them in their roles enables them to be viewed as leaders with influence and makes the decision-making process leaner.

As a senior leader, your role is to lead and be accountable, but by training and developing your emerging and front-line leaders, you can let them lead and do their jobs.

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