A competent management team is critical to a company’s success. The difference between a high-performing company and potential business failures can be traced to knowledgeable, competent leaders or the lack thereof. One way to ensure continuous development is through the identification of skill gaps and the development of methods that close the gaps. The Forbes Coaches suggests ways to uncover leadership gaps and methods to address them.
One way to determine gaps in leadership skills is to observe the behavior of leaders when projects go off track or mistakes or made. Do they take responsibility or negate their accountability? If so, this behavior could signal a gap in leadership skills.
A gap in leadership skills may also be the culprit if employees are displaying behaviors such as arrogance, leadership resistance, and difficult interactions. If these behaviors are evident, the Council suggests listening to determine the root causes of the behavior and advises leaders to confront the behavior early to avoid further problems.
Employees that collaborate and connect are integral to high-performing teams and financial outcomes. If teams operate in silos and display symptoms of dysfunction, mistrust, and detachment, a leadership gap could be the culprit. Great leaders ensure that teams have opportunities to interact, bond and grow as a team, focusing and refocusing on the needs of employees, asking questions such as “Is training adequate?” Competent leaders must keep a close eye on the status of their teams, and their leaders should ensure that managers continue to lead. If not, the inability to encourage and nurture team connections could be a critical leadership gap.
Teams benefit greatly from post-mortems and narrative 360 feedback. Communicating and creating awareness of what went well and what needs improvement is critical to team growth. If this is not happening, check to determine if leadership gaps exist.
It is a fact that employees leave their managers. The ability to maximize performance evaluations, uncovering information that leads to improvement is a critical leadership skill. Also, the ability to connect with employees and create a safe place to gain honest and direct feedback is a leadership skill that should be honed. If gaps are uncovered, methods should be put in place to close the leadership gaps.