
I have spent most of my life thinking about how to create synchronous organizational movement. Whether trying to round up enough kids for a kickball game as a child, organize parties as a teen, plan large gatherings as an adult, keep 70+ volunteers engaged on mission together or lead in a church, I have experienced much success and seen the organizational value in moving people towards the same goal. When I talk organizational development with business leaders, I sometimes get this kickback: it’s too soft, too hard to measure or too difficult to get top leadership buy-in.
Interestingly enough, when I saw the results of the recent 2024 LEADx Leadership Development Benchmark Report, it came as no surprise that the top 4 metrics to prove the value of leadership development are:
1. Employee Engagement
2. Retention, Turnover, & Promotion
3. Manager Effectiveness
4. Behavior Change
We can definitely get hard stats for retention, turnover and promotion. However, employee engagement, manager effectiveness and behavior change are slightly harder to measure without someone on the management team committed to looking for and documenting change. As a leadership coach, I am uniquely positioned to document the difference that leadership coaching can make, in measurable ways.
1. Seeing a leader begin to love their work and take ownership for the engagement of the rest of their team. Proven Win.
2. Coaching leaders to move away from “I’m the boss” mentality towards creating a mutually empowering resolution. Proven Win.
3. Resourcing leaders to lead well through myriad emotional land mines that show up and blow up in workspaces so that trust can begin to be built and people stay. Proven Win.
The reality is that effective leadership requires humility and a whole lot of biting your tongue, in order to truly hear what your team member is and even more importantly at times, is not saying. It is powerful to have someone on your team who can help a leader navigate through difficult relationship dynamics from a semi-outside perspective, who can recognize and affirm the sacrifices that are required to lead well and can lend their expertise on how to move forward as a team. Let us be that “someone” on your team, who helps your leaders build thriving teams.
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