leadership
Connection Point
ENGAGE EMPLOYEES USING A HEART-CENTRED APPROACH
The demand for exceptional leadership
skills has never been more
vital to unlocking transformational
growth in business.
According to Deloitte’s Global Human
Capital Trends report, released in March
2014, leadership development was listed
as the most “urgent” or “important” global
challenge facing organizations today by 86
per cent of the HR and business leaders
surveyed. Only 13 per cent of the respondents
felt that they did an excellent job
developing leaders at all levels.
Research continues to emphasize that
leadership development needs to be
centred on interpersonal skills and human
relationship building in the workplace.
The problem with most leadership development
programs today is that they are
focused on outdated models. The future of
leadership is, at its core, about people connecting
with people – there is a significant
cost when you neglect the human connection
point in business.
Over the past 20 years, a substantial
amount of data has shown that investment
in the human element in business
is a profit-making proposition. It is no secret
that programs directed at employee
engagement, leadership development,
work-life balance, wellness and employee
assistance all show a meaningful returnon
investment for employers.
One example of this research is a 2012
Towers-Watson study of 50 global companies,
comparing those with low regard
for sustainable engagement strategies versus
those with high regard for such. These
strategies include a people-first leadership
approach, along with an emphasis
on work-life balance, job clarity, supervisor
support and ethical business practices.
The study found that those companies
with low engagement had an average operating
margin of 10 per cent, whereas for
By Susan Steinbrecher
Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MAY/JUNE 2015 ❚ 53