Many of us have done leadership training for work, come back to the office and thought: “That was a huge waste of time”. Or returned with the best of intentions but realised, six months on, we never actually used any of skills we learned on the course. So, what makes leadership development programs effective?
Leaders overlook internal promotions at their peril. In a Pew Research survey, 63% of respondents who left jobs in 2021 cited a lack of advancement opportunities as a reason. And a 2022 study by consulting company McKinsey noted that a lack of career development and advancement was the most common reason given for quitting a job. With that in mind, here are three ways NFPs can use career development to retain employees for longer.
Good leadership is crucial for NFPs to succeed.
That’s why four major Australian foundations have announced a collaboration to create a 10-month, national capacity-building and leadership program for CEOs in Australian not-for-profit (NFP) organisations.
The Social Impact Leadership Australia program (SILA) is an evidence-based program specifically developed to meet the needs of Australian CEOs and build the capacity of their organisations directly and indirectly.
Most NFP organisations realise just how important having great managers is to the success of their organisation – and they should also have a pretty good idea of what makes a great manager.
So the goal is clear. But as a senior leader or HR manager, how do you get your organisation and its managers to that point?
Far from being a soft, touchy-feely skill, neuroscience has shown that storytelling is a one of the most powerful tools a leader has. A great storyteller can weave a story that allows her to enter the minds of colleagues and change what they feel, to change what they think, to influence how they act.
Which is why the +Acumen platform is offering NFP leaders the chance to learn storytelling for free!
Inequality, injustice, environmental destruction . . . things need to change in the world – that much is clear to anyone working in the NFP sector.
And to create the future we want – and need – it’s going to take leaders who can step up and “shape the future we want.”
Does your organisation sometimes base HR decisions on emotions, instincts or politics rather than data?
Every day, reams of data are created by your organisation that could help you make better people decisions. Decisions like: Who to hire? Who to promote? How to manage great staff or struggling staff? How to build high-performing teams?
But how do you turn all that data you’ve got – whether through CVs, staff surveys, or staff pay and performance data – into actionable insights? Here’s how.
If you had two job options – one with more money, and one with better learning and development (L&D) opportunities, which would you choose?
You may know someone like this at work: optimistic and resilient, they appear to bounce through challenges drawing on an internal strength that helps them work through problems they encounter at work. Always hopeful and positive about the future, they treat stressful events as a “one-off” situation, appearing to have a built-in buffer that protects them against both ordinary and extraordinary events. Perhaps this is even you.
This sort of emotional resilience is often considered innate. But can it be taught?
It’s the age-old question: are leaders born or made?
While there’s no hard and fast verdict, the general consensus is that it’s a combination of both – and that’s great news for the up-and-coming leaders in your organisation who might need further development.