News: Performance Management
Management training: Leaders must "clearly communicate" through crunch
01 October 2008
During a lull in the economy, business managers and chief executive officers (CEOs) recognise that an organisation is only as good as its leadership, it has been claimed.
The key to sustainable high performance is to have leaders who "clearly communicate" where turbulence lies, what their strategy is and what their values are, according to Steve Crabb, strategic advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Underlining the effectiveness of training in both leadership and communication skills, Mr Crabb also remarked that it is critical managers do not "cut off the pipeline" of future leaders.
"It's all too easy for chief executives to claim that the people at their organisation are the most important asset but [not] act as if they believe it," he stated.
Citing a recent survey of CEOs undertaken by the CIPD, he pointed out that leadership and development topped the list of credit crunch priorities with regard to steering a workforce through economic turbulence.
After the study, the CIPD's director of research and policy identified "a fundamental shift" in the nature of leadership required.
Linda Holbeche underlined keeping people engaged and "focused on performance" as characteristics of the shift.
