Last week we concluded our series on organizational “Hot Spots and Challenges.” Of the 49 issues, which did you relate to? Were you able to determine what you or your organization “Needs To Start Doing” that currently is not being done?
Are You Meeting These Challenges in Your Organization?
Now let’s look at leadership from a different perspective. Leaders were asked how prepared they were to meet these 4 challenges:
- Innovation
- Human Capital
- Operational Excellence
- Customer Relationships
Customer Relationships scored highest with 45% of leaders feeling they were prepared to handle this well.
This was followed with Operational Excellence at 33%. Wikipedia defines this as “an element of organizational leadership that stresses the application of a variety of principles, systems, and tools toward the sustainable improvement of key performance metrics.”
Innovation (26%) and Human Capital (27%) were areas where leaders felt a little less prepared. (Human capital, as defined by Wikipedia is the stock of knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes, including creativity, embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value).
Does it surprise you that the highest score is 45%? That for three of the four challenges, less than one-third of the leaders surveyed felt they were well prepared to address the challenge?
The Top Obstacles to Addressing Organizational Challenges
Skill-set and experience might come to mind for the low scores, but it turns out the top obstacles were viewed as:
- Not enough time or opportunity
- Lack of support/autonomy
- With skill and knowledge last
Leaders also shared what they viewed as insufficient involvement “gaps”:
- HR – 48%
- Senior Management – 46%
- Managers – 33%
- Employees – 32%
The people factor seems to be the top “want and need.” Collaboration, focus, mentorships, ownership, accountability, and time, all seem to play a role.
Having clear priorities and shared goals are also an absolute must have. Experiencing change and facing challenges are inevitable, so we must all engage in leadership development and training (remember we’re all leaders!) to continually develop the skills to manage internal and external challenges we (and our organizations) are facing.
What challenges are keeping you up night? What could help?
QwikTip and QwikCoach
PeopleTek’s Strategic partner, E-Coach, specializes in online coaching tools.
QwikTip for a Change Initiative
And for those with a QwikCoach license, refresh your existing skills and acquire new skills by visiting the QwikTips library for leadership ideas and techniques.
If you don’t have QwikCoach, it’s an excellent resource for growing your leadership skills remotely that you should consider.
Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!