The job market is an increasingly challenging place to find a firm foundation upon which one can stand and build a career. Employees are faced with workplace environments that are changing on a constant basis, often times within the same organization and even the same department. Rightly so, considering the fact that the world is at a constantly increasingly rate of change due to factors such as global interdependence, technology, and environmental awareness (Bennis, 1989).
Given this reality, employees are expected to be in a constant state of adaptation, growth and development in order to be effective in their work responsibilities. The elements that are effecting change in the workplace are also creating change within the employees; individuals are finding they are becoming more aware of their human values (Cacioppe, 1998) and their personal needs in relation to their work environments (Conger, 1993). Due to all these changes, it is becoming increasingly more important for organizational leaders to be aware of, and effectively address, the equipping and training needs of their employees. Leadership development that addresses skill development, core competencies, relational intelligence is not simply a responsibility organizational leaders should consider addressing; it is a vital area of need that must be addressed for the organization’s sustainability.
Leadership development for employees of all levels in an organizational should provide employees with opportunities to learn from their work (Dalakoura, 2010), and should occur in the context of ongoing work intiatives (Tichy, 2002). It should also be integrated into everyday organizational practices (Dalakoura, 2010) and be tied to strategic business business imperatives (Tichy, 2002). The integration of a leadership development program is a critical success factor to employee growth and adaptation to the changing workplace (Dalakoura, 2010), and translates into organizational success in the marketplace.
References
Bennis, W. G. (1989). Managing the Dream: Leadership in the 21st Century. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 2(1), 6–10. http://doi.org/10.1108/09534818910134040
Cacioppe, R. (1998). Leaders developing leaders: an effective way to enhance leadership development programs. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 19(4), 194–198. http://doi.org/10.1108/01437739810217179
Conger, J. A. (1993). Training leaders for the twenty-first century. Human Resource Management Review, 3(3), 203–218. http://doi.org/10.1016/1053-4822(93)90013-T
Dalakoura, A. (2010). Differentiating leader and leadership development: A collective framework for leadership development. Journal of Management Development, 29(5), 432–441. http://doi.org/10.1108/02621711011039204
Tichy, N. M. (2002). The Leadership Engine (1st edition). New York: HarperBusiness.
