Leadership and management are among the factors that shape organizational performance. Under the guidance of effective leaders and managers, organizations are able to achieve sustainable growth. As a demonstration of their recognition of the role that management and leadership play, many organizations are investing heavily in talent development. Such approaches as training and succession planning are being adopted to equip employees with the skills and competencies that they need to lead and manage effectively. However, while it is important for firms to continue develop the leadership and management capabilities of their employees, they need to develop a clear and accurate conceptualization of leadership and management.
Conceptualization of Leadership and Management
To understand the measures that firms adopt as part of efforts to develop effective managers and leaders, it is vital to begin with an examination of how leadership and management are conceptualized. In her article, Hester Nienaber (2010) observed that these concepts are defined in terms of their associated tasks. Essentially, organizations use the respective responsibilities of management and leadership to distinguish these two concepts. For example, leaders are generally expected to motivate employees while managers are responsible for ensuring that all the processes and functions needed to achieve organizational goals are in place. While she recognizes the efforts of organizations to conceptualize management and leadership, Nienaber finds that there is no significant difference between the two issues. Both leaders and managers are vital stakeholders whose effort is needed for organizational growth.
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Role of Organizational Arrangements for Talent Development
In a bid to promote talent development, organizations usually adopt policies and arrangements designed to equip employees with insights and competencies. Some of the arrangements that are commonly adopted include succession planning and employee training (Cappelli, 2008). For the most part, these arrangements are effective in boosting talent development. Personally, I have witnessed the tremendous impact that talent development arrangements can have on organizational performance. I have worked for organizations which invest huge amounts and effort in employee engagement initiatives, training and attractive compensation packages. In general, these arrangements have helped me grow as a leader and manager. For example, through the succession planning program, I have been prepared for complex and challenging roles. I also find that in some ways, the arrangements have hindered me. For instance, the succession planning programs have encouraged unhealthy competition and seen unqualified employees positioned to replace those who retire or leave the organizations.
Evaluation Approaches
To determine the effectiveness of the leadership and management development approaches that they adopt, organizations conduct assessments. The assessments are usually based on competency frameworks. Essentially, these frameworks seek to determine if employees have acquired the expected skills and competencies following the implementation of development programs. The competency-based frameworks are largely ineffective. This is because they fail to account for the complexity of leadership and management (Richards, 2008). While competence is a critical element of leadership and management, it does not go far enough in defining these concepts. Such other issues as personal traits and qualities are also important components of leadership and management. The competence-based frameworks fail to accommodate these personal traits in their evaluations of leadership and management development programs. If they are to accurately and successfully assess the impact of the programs, organizations need to develop broader evaluation approaches.
Impact of Theoretical and Mainstream Ideas
Leadership and management development does not occur in a vacuum. As they adopt and implement their development approaches, organizations draw inspiration from mainstream and theoretical ideas about leadership and development. One of the effects of these ideas is that they could cause an organization to adopt models and frameworks that are inconsistent with their operations and mission. For example, leaders are commonly regarded as heroes who make sacrifices for the sake of their organization’s growth (Ford, 2015). This conception of leadership can be misleading and if adopted, may have detrimental effects on the operations of an organization. While it is true that mainstream and theoretical ideas can have damaging effects on organizations, they can also facilitate leadership and management development. For example, by adopting theoretical and mainstream development approaches that have proven effective, organizations can create leaders and managers who steer them towards growth.
In conclusion, the importance of leadership and management lies in the fact that these concepts drive organizational performance. It is crucial for organizations to adopt mechanisms and frameworks through which they invest in bringing up visionary leaders and effective managers. However, as they do this, the organizations should be wary of the common pitfalls that hinder successful leadership and management development. In particular, the organizations should understand that politics can have damaging effects. To be successful, the organizations should only adopt practices and approaches whose effectiveness is guaranteed.
References
Cappelli, P. (2008). Talent management for the twenty-first century. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved October 3, 2018 from https://hbr.org/2008/03/talent-management-for-the-twenty-first-century
Ford, J. (2015). Going beyond the hero in leadership development: the place of healthcare context, complexity and relationships. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 4 (4), 261-3.
Nienaber, H. (2010). Conceptualization of management and leadership. Management Decision. DOI: 10.1108/02517471080000699
Richards, P. (2008). A competency approach to developing leaders- is this approach effective? Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 48 (1), 131-144.
