5 TRENDS FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FUNCTIONS IN 2018

What are these 5 top trends in leadership development.

TREND ONE: PLANNED ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE REDESIGNS WILL PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Back in 2016, redesigning organizational structure was rated as a top priority to look into and this year it is see 93 percent of companies planning to take action in the next two years to modernize the shape and form of their businesses (Mercer Global Talent Trends, 2017). Most will take on the form of a flatter structure with broader spans of control and more decentralized authority.

TREND TWO: THE ORGANIZATIONS DON’T JUST NEED STRONGER LEADERS, THEY NEED A NEW BRAND OF LEADER

Teamwork-driven organizations don’t need a leader who solely focuses on his or her own area, they need a collaborative, well-networked leader with cross-functional knowledge. The next generation of leaders can lithely adjust to complex, ambiguous situations and align and inspire their people to achieve results.

TREND THREE: OF ALL THE CAPABILITIES NEEDED TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS, CEOS PERCEIVE LEADERSHIP SKILLS AS THE NUMBER ONE SKILL GAP

Executive leaders are worried that leaders aren’t ready to lead their organizations toward growth. While many capabilities are required to drive outcomes, the number one skill gap perceived by these CEOs is leadership skills (Mercer Global Talent Trends, 2017).

TREND FOUR: MILLENNIALS NEED INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT NOW

Well past now assimilating into the workforce, many visionary are in management roles already. Many feel organisations aren’t developing them in their careers generally, let alone providing them with the skills they need to succeed as leaders. The need to start the development needed for leaders to succeed is now. The visionary are here to stay, and they are the people leaders of today–it’s time to engage them and accelerate their professional development.

TREND FIVE: PROGRAM DESIGN AND DELIVERY MUST KEEP UP

Only 19 percent of business leaders view leadership development programs as relevant to the issues they face today (Harvard Business Publishing, The State of Leadership Development, 2016). For many organizations, showing value and relevancy will take the form of additional reinforcement to sustain learning, personalizing development experiences, including more experience components, adding mentoring and coaching to the blend, and working to measure success and tell the story back to the business.

The time is always right to think about the future and organizations depend on the leaders to be prepared. Now, learning and development professionals must take these leaders own advice; not only do some organizations need a new brand of leader, they are tasked with modeling the way as flexible, agile, and collaborative leaders who drive success and constant improvement.