Leaders from all over the world – coming from different cultures, customs, industries and businesses – all have this one thing in common: they face the same challenges.
This claim was proven by a study conducted by the Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL). The firm gathered data from 763 participants in seven countries – China, Hong Kong, Egypt, India, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States – and found that they faced these exact six obstacles:
- developing managerial effectiveness
- inspiring others
- developing employees
- leading a team
- guiding change
- managing internal stakeholders and politics
The table below shows the rankings these six points received from each country surveyed:
Focusing on the United States, CCL found that developing managerial effectiveness was the most common challenge. This comes down to struggling to develop relevant skills in order to become more effective in their roles. Skills such as time-management, prioritization, strategic thinking, decision-making, staying on top of trends and ever changing requirements of a managerial role, are crucial to setting leaders up for continued success.
CCL’s suggestions for overcoming these challenges include outlining clear goals, delegating effectively, improving a company’s value-add and getting more clarity on individual roles. Relationship building, however, was cited as the top priority.
Leaders who show genuine care and interest in not only their employee’s development but also personal well-being and mental health, have a far greater influence in building effective, dedicated and appreciative teams. Investing in relationships can be done by mentoring, and providing feedback, guidance and support through challenging tasks. CCL said that leaders should “assume roles such as being a sounding board, role model, or shoulder to lean on, while ensuring that organizational structures and systems enhance collaboration and accountability… A leader must try to meet the differing needs of the many individuals with whom they work on a daily basis.”
For those in learning and development, it’s important to create training programs that speak to the challenges that leaders face. It’s important to listen. It’s important to understand the struggle. This unifies a company and your connection to it. It can also help dissolve issues, avoid potential setbacks, and ensure that leaders and their employees can overcome challenges and are better equipped for when they do arise.
A full copy of the study can be viewed here.
