Remember Curley from the movie City Slickers?
He held up that weathered old hand and said, “The secret to life is one thing.” Billy Crystal asked, “What is the one thing, Curley?” He answered, “You have to figure that out.”
That is what more and more people are asking about these days: What is the one thing that will help my organization be more competitive?
The answer lies right in front of them. The one thing that will make the most difference right now? Your people. Specifically, building on their strengths, building their collaborative skills and strengthening your team.
Where do you start? Strengths-based leadership.
Did you know that leadership investments have one of the highest ROIs for time and money invested?
Consider the recent research:
The overall ROI for investing in leadership is 10-to-1 (Information Masters). Strengths-based leadership increases trust in the organization 6-to-1 (Gallup organization) and 8-to-1 on employee engagement (which coincides with retention and job satisfaction).
Where else can you get that kind of ROI?
Want to learn more? We have found the latest research from Gallup on strengths-based leadership to be an amazing tool for mapping the strengths of your individuals to your organization. It is outlined in the latest book, Strengths-Based Leadership by Tom Rath of the Gallup organization. Think of this as your handbook on leadership and building your team.
Buy the book and you get a code in the back that allows you to take a brief test that will identify your top five strengths. These strengths cluster in the four domains of leadership:
- Executing
- Influencing
- Relationship building
- Strategy
Now imagine forming your teams based on these strengths. Two things happen: 1) Your people are working in the zone, their zone where they are naturally talented; and 2) your teams are formed based on the four key domains of leadership, which is optimum for getting from strategy to execution.
That is where the competitive advantage starts. Add some basic team skills like collaboration and strategic thinking and you are on your way to competitive advantage and a major ROI.
Then, come and take our Strategic Planning Facilitation training (Sept. 15-16 in Towson, Md.) using our latest tool, I2A: Insights to Action, where you will get the latest collaboration, teamwork and facilitation techniques along with a strategic thinking framework to keep you ahead of the curve.
Still not convinced? Look at the recent headlines from two major business publications:
- Bloomberg BusinessWeek (July 30, 2010): Put Leadership Training on the Front Burner
- Wall Street Journal (Aug. 2, 2010): Leadership Training Gains Urgency Amidst Stronger Economy
What do you think? Is leadership development the one thing? Or do you have another?