The future of leadership development has arrived. Managers are no longer simply managing people and workflows; they’re creating a space for their direct reports to thrive. They are tasked with foreseeing obstacles and barriers to proactively remove, encouraging growth, cultivating meaningful work, and navigating through change.

Oh, and let’s not forget that managers are often working on tactical day-to-day tasks as well.

Managers are the direct link to an employee’s overall experience and well-being in the workplace. They are often the first to be questioned when an employee leaves and sometimes the last to be thanked after a successful project. When things are going well, they will point to their strong team and when things aren’t going well, they take responsibility.

With all the importance placed on the manager role, how are we setting them up for success? We looked at some of the common practices for preparing managers at both mid-size and large companies and what we found is not a shock but tells us there is still work to do.

In most instances, leadership development for both new and existing leaders is primarily driven by HR. Of course, we can all agree that HR is awesome and every leader should get to know their friendly HR partner, right? While we wouldn’t dare say there’s anything wrong with HR driving this initiative, the focus cannot strictly be on best practices related to process and policy.

Leadership development needs to be an immersive experience that lays the foundation that includes the HR competencies but also one that focuses on the soft skills required to be an effective leader. We are talking about managing people and we all know that people are complex—approaching everyone the same way is not an effective management strategy. So, what is an effective management strategy and what does it include?

A management strategy should center on the business goals and objectives with an understanding that results are driven by people. There should be clear goal setting, good communication, positive relations, and adaptability. Managers can build the framework for a great employee experience by cultivating an environment for positivity, autonomy, support, and psychological safety.

With the right management strategy in place, the sky is the limit.

For a management strategy to be successful, organizations should build a curriculum around the five core competencies:

•       Development

•       Change Management

•       Workforce Planning

•       Organizational Culture

•      HR Systems

Development

Development for leaders cannot just be offered at a point in time. The workplace does not stand still and is constantly evolving as should leadership development. Technology can play a critical role in providing just-in-time learning and training, as well as keeping content fresh and relevant.

It is through development that the intangibles of leadership are taught and honed. The skills that are not measurable nor are they easily explained but they are non-negotiables in leadership. As leaders grow and develop throughout their careers in leadership, they will naturally sharpen these tools, but the most effective leaders are constant learners.

As new processes emerge and best practices change, development opportunities for leaders will allow them to stay fluent and competent in the field. New leaders can benefit from the targeted training and support as they are getting acclimated to the role of managing people.

As with any training, if only offered in sparse pockets, the chances that skills learned will continue transferring are slim. Providing multiple channels for development in a regular, reoccurring fashion can pay dividends for the bottom line.

Change Management

The only thing for sure is that nothing is for sure. In most instances, especially in our professional lives, change is not a choice. We can’t avoid it even if we want things to remain the same. Do you ever catch yourself saying “I liked the way we used to do it”? Yes? Well, unfortunately for you, as a leader you need to remove that phrase from your vernacular.

Change management is a core competency because it is such a vital skill in the world of managing people. Understanding how to communicate, adapt, and take responsibility are all pivotal aspects of the change process.

Not all leaders will be on the front end of a change, but all leaders need to understand how to support and sell the vision for change. Leaders are often the first to learn about a change coming and tasked with anticipating the impact it will have on their team—then they are expected to message the change to their respective team and manage any feedback received.

Leaders need to learn how to communicate and implement changes with the least disruption possible. While leaders might receive talking points and carefully crafted scripting to ensure consistency, it’s important to message it thoughtfully.

While the change process is typically very structured and led by a project manager who brings all the subject-matter-experts together, every leader plays a role in the overall success of the change. It is critical for leaders to understand why a change is occurring and to be empowered to communicate to their teams with compassion, energy, and resolve.

Workforce Planning

Organizations are taking a strategic approach to workforce planning with leaders helping to implement different aspects of the strategy. Leaders must be fluent in analyzing the workforce and seeing gaps that exist. HR relies heavily on the boots-on-the-ground managers helping to identify areas for focusing future hiring needs.

Leaders must also be competent in succession planning and working constantly to develop team members into future leaders. As organizations look inward to fill specialized roles and leadership positions, they will proactively build a pipeline to pull candidates. Agile leaders will use regular meetings with their direct reports for talent planning and identifying career development goals.

HR will have insight into the data on workforce supply and demand, but they will leverage leaders in helping to find the right people to plug in. Leaders will also be instrumental in developing grassroots initiatives to attract and develop individuals interested in making a career change into a more specialized area. After all, nobody knows their area of expertise like the leader of that department.

Organizational Culture

If there were an inner core of the core, it would be the organizational culture. When we talk about manager foundations, it’s the culture or set of values, beliefs, and behaviors the organization identifies with that makes up the bulk of it. This is the opportunity for the organization to shape its leaders and to bring objectives and goals into alignment.

Culture is more delicate than many organizations realize and can easily shift when things go wrong. Organizations that have experienced this shift know how difficult it can be to repair. Leaders greatly influence employee perspectives about the organization, so it is through this core competency that culture drivers can be grown.

HR Systems

As a people manager, a core competency you may not have known or secretly hoped would not be a part of the curriculum is HR systems and technology. Sorry to break it to you but once you start managing people, you open the door for all the HR stuff to come right on in and you better get acquainted fast.

The HR core functions like compensation, employee relations, leave management, payroll, performance management, talent acquisition, and talent development are all just another day in the life of the people manager. While some of these core functions may not be a daily process for the manager, they are all key components in the department’s operations.

HR will be tasked with ensuring that leaders are up-to-date and trained on new systems and tech, as well as troubleshooting issues stemming from access to functionality. Once leaders feel comfortable using HR systems, they can leverage their capabilities to create a better employee experience.

The success of an organization starts with its people. Without the right knowledge and expertise guiding and influencing the workforce, an organization will only be as good as what it prepares for.

Preparing leaders for success is one trend that isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Understanding how these core competencies impact the organization and figuring out how best to deliver them to leaders will ultimately shape the future of the business.