Focus on Leaders Who Need It Most 2-minute read Written by Shawn Bakker, Lead Psychologist In our People Trends Report, we examined which leaders receive most of the focus of their organization’s leadership development efforts. Where does your organization focus it’s leadership development efforts? Front Line Leaders Are Ignored Unsurprisingly, senior leadership roles get the most attention from their organizations and this decreases as you move down the corporate ladder. The vast majority of front-line leaders, 79%, are being left to figure things out themselves. This creates a significant challenge, because when we asked HR professionals to identify the leadership transition that they see as the most difficult to make they overwhelmingly selected moving into ones’ first leadership role. In your organization, which leadership transition do you see as most difficult? That leaves many organizations missing a key group when planning their leadership development programs. First time leaders have many new issues they need to figure out – getting work done through others, managing change, and resolving conflict between others. When left to learn how to do this on their own, many experience frustration and a lack of success. This hurts the individual leader, their followers and also the organization. Most companies would do well to reconsider the level of support and guidance they provide to their new leaders. Leadership Pitfalls You might then ask, “Where should we focus our efforts?” The most common pitfalls of leaders was also something we explored in our research. Where should we focus leadership development efforts? By starting at the top of the list, you can immediately help new leaders address the most common challenges of their peers – communication and thinking strategically. For new leaders trial by fire is not a recipe for success, and focusing more on their development will ensure that organizations have the effective leadership required for the future. Leveraging Leadership Assessment Tools In addressing these challenges, organizations can benefit from the insights provided by leadership assessment tools. With Psychometrics Canada’s support, organizations gain valuable insights into individuals’ leadership potential, strengths, and areas for development. These insights enable informed decision-making, helping organizations align leadership capabilities with their business objectives and unlock the full potential of their leaders to drive innovation and sustainable growth.