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15 Effective Ways To Strengthen Senior Leadership’s Management Skills

Forbes Human Resources Council

Businesses are only as strong as their employees—and that includes their leaders. Poor decision-making or interpersonal skills among senior leadership can damage a business, causing high turnover rates and poor performance across the board.

The members of Forbes Human Resources Council know that pursuing leadership development is just as important as providing training for other employees. Below, 15 of them recommend strategies to help companies strengthen their senior leadership’s management skills. 

1. Encourage meaningful delegation.

The art of meaningful delegation can improve the management capacity of any senior leader. Once leaders transcend into senior leadership, they have to better utilize their teams to rise to a more strategic leadership role, rather than continuing in the tactical role they played previously. Meaningful delegation also builds trust with team members and new leaders while providing developmental opportunities. - Terrence Black, Entergy

2. Let them ‘own’ their area of specialization.

Companies should allow each of their senior leadership members the ability to innovate and “own” their area of specialization. By allowing leaders to focus on out-of-the-box thinking, engage in calculated risk-taking and encourage their teams to suggest ideas and processes that promote productivity, effectiveness and forward-thinking, companies not only empower their teams but also build amazing resilience. - Nakisha Griffin, Virtual Enterprise Architects

3. Hold interactive management reviews.

More transparent companies may consider interactive quarterly management reviews with senior leaders to share lessons learned from collective successes and failures experienced across the company. This could be more valuable than training since it offers experiential wisdom in a timely and conversational way that empowers leaders with information that preps them for similar, yet novel, situations. - Dr. Timothy J. Giardino, BMC Software

4. Help them understand their impact.

Investment in leaders is one of the most neglected areas, yet it’s essential to growing healthy and successful companies. Leaders influence culture, culture empowers people, and people drive business outcomes. Stronger leaders create a stronger culture, people and teams, which leads to strong business outcomes. Everyone wins. - Zaina Orbai, The RealReal

5. Promote two-way communication with employees.

Management training is key to fostering strong employee engagement and leadership. Leaders can build their management skills through recognition and employee engagement. Employees want to know that their work matters and that they have a voice. That’s why leaders must cultivate an inclusive workplace that promotes two-way communication, such as by setting up employee check-ins and providing ongoing feedback. - Marina Aslanyan, SmartLinx

6. Remind them that employees will mirror their behavior.

Junior and mid-level employees mirror the behaviors of senior management—even the way they walk down the hallway. An investment in developing one senior manager can have a tenfold effect on an organization. - Michael Doonan, SPMB

7. Build both leadership and management skills.

Companies need to focus on building leadership skills and not just management skills. Management is about a process. Leadership is about people. Teaching leaders to embrace the cost of leadership—not just the perks—is one of the key approaches to strengthening entire leadership teams—which strengthens entire organizations! - Steve Lowisz, Qualigence International/Lowisz Consulting


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8. Conduct 360-degree reviews of your senior leadership.

Find out from leaders, their peers and their subordinates in which areas they could use more focused skill-building, and deliver it to them. Every individual has their blind spots, and a well-crafted 360-degree review can give a well-rounded view of what’s needed. - Rebecca Edwards, Infinite HR of Charlotte

9. Invest in professional coaches and assessment tools.

Professional coaches and/or tools such as 360s or DISC assessments can help senior leaders identify areas of improvement in a non-punitive environment. Although training for all employees is important, developing senior leaders can be more critical at times because of the impact they have across the organization. A bad leader can cause damage on a much larger scale. - Frank Molinario, Security First Insurance Company Inc.

10. Empower them to implement new ideas.

Culture is set at the top. Companies should invest in their senior leaders because their growth and development directly impact employees at all levels. When you practice transparency and empower senior leaders to implement new ideas and encourage change, they will do the same with their staff. This creates an environment that not only cultivates leaders from within but also gives everyone a voice. - Larry Dolinko, The Execu|Search Group

11. Define measurable leadership standards.

Define expectations regarding leadership style across the entire organization. Knowing what a “leader” is sets a measurable standard for the entire company. - Claudia Fulga, Fivestars

12. Teach them to ask the right questions.

Influence leaders to frequently ask each employee the following questions: “How have you progressed on business and development goals since our last one-to-one? What do you need from me for continued success in delivering results at work and at home? How are you feeling about your career and development with our team and company?” The dialogue creates a self-sustaining growth-mindset ecosystem. - David Alsop, Ultradent Products, Inc.

13. Invest in their ability to navigate and champion change.

Change is the work of leaders, and equipping them with the ability to embrace change in people, processes, systems and strategies while also being ready to carry the team through change is crucial to the overall health and vitality of the organization. Investing in leadership’s ability to champion change flows throughout the rest of the organization. - Jennifer Beezer, FOREO Inc.

14. Prepare them for a ‘hyper-VUCA’ world.

Given the events of 2020, it’s critical that we help leaders scale themselves to operate in a “hyper-VUCA” (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. This should include building skills in resilience, empathy, compassion and allyship. This year in particular has heightened the importance of these skills in our leaders. They are also function-, role- and industry-agnostic. - Naveen Bhateja, Medidata Solutions

15. Help them build their emotional intelligence.

With the rapid change in how we work, leaders need to build strong EQ skills, with empathy being key. Outside of formal training, leaders need to listen to understand their employees. Every conversation you have with an employee helps you build rapport and trust and allows for the free flow of innovative ideas. Leaders must walk the walk and lead by example. - Sarika Lamont, Avantus Federal

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