The workforce in the near future will be composed primarily of existing employees, some new graduate hires, some professional hires and a complementary workforce (part-time workers, business partners, and vendors).

Existing employees need to undergo retraining programmes of one type or another. Recruitment of new hires is already difficult because of the skills shortage and has become a difficult area as competition for well-educated, technical specialists becomes extreme.

These preceding changes will dictate the future and format of training programmes.

Leaders must focus on four critical qualities:

• Transparency - display openness, allow for discussions, and questions

• Appreciate employees – communicate how best employees are valued

• Show respect – treat employees as unique individuals

• Honesty – credible conditions for employees and customers during difficult times

The programmes will have to address:

• Diverse participant base – different ages, cultures

• Diverse skill base- varying levels of expertise/experience

• Changing skill requirements – new technology and changing customer needs

• Flexible work schedules/location – dual careers – more commuting

• Information overload- pace of technological change

• Exemplary problem solving skills and competent inter-personal skills

The key ingredient in addressing and providing suitable interventions is the effectiveness of the leader/manager. Leadership is currently facing a conundrum. To lead or to manage, to focus on individual performance or team performance, to fire fight or fire prevent?

This poses a whole lot of new challenges to the management team. They are responsible for communication between independent teams, responsible for communication between team and staff function, they are responsible for insuring innovation, motivation, and collaboration.

This workforce challenge must deal with flexibility – work location and work schedule, diversity – age and culture as well as skills mix, and complexity – constantly changing skills requirements.

In these times of uncertainty, stress, anxiety, at all levels, more and more training programmes must focus on creating an enabling environment so that every employee is able to further their “human desire to make a meaningful difference and contribution through their productive inputs”, to make their mark, and to further the vision of the organisation.

Managers, in tandem with the organisation, will have to provide an enabling environment built on a culture of continuous learning where every employee is encouraged to work on growing and developing their unique talents and skills.

Employees must be encouraged to take risks; otherwise there is no learning or creativity. The greater the trust, the greater the freedom. But, freedom comes with responsibility.

As employees become better trained, learn the business, leaders will feel more comfortable entrusting decision making at the lowest levels and letting go: employees will more satisfied assuming greater responsibility. Customers will feel greatly satisfied.

Over the past couple of years the general business environment can be best described as increasingly dynamic, uncertain, and complex. More workers have increased affluence, and increased education levels.

This has prompted employees to demand more respect, recognition, and greater involvement in decisions and in determining their outputs.

The first question to ask is ‘What training programmes can I implement immediately to tap into the unique talents and strengths of every employee, as well as mitigating the effects of the current uncertainty on team morale?”.

The critical outcome of any programme, must ensure that on completion, the employee walks away with the confidence, skills, and assurance that they can take on the role of manager and leader, accept responsibility, accountability, no matter what their level or job function.

Where to start?

Research on human personality suggests that healthy individuals need to be treated with respect. They have a fundamental need to feel competent and independent, as they effectively pursue goals which have been effectively communicated, and to which they are then committed.

In the business world this means we must actively become aware of each other’s values, needs, and reasons for behaviour. This requires on-going use of Inter-active people and communication skills.

The purpose of communication is persuasion. All too often the goal is shared values but perhaps not shared information. This infers that communication becomes a strategy of power, a model of “winning friends and influencing people”.

The idea is that the purpose of every communication is to build rapport, effective, and harmonious communication. Studies have shown that highly successful people share the ability to develop personal and professional relationships.

Over a period of thirty years I have narrowed the essentials of unleashing the potential in employees into three distinct fast track programmes.

Training programmes should be a learning progression of the fundamental competencies everyone needs to manage their job function, and a clear understanding of what characterizes a leader.

1. Communication and People Management

The first fast track programme in this progression focuses on understanding ourselves, how and why we behave as we do, assesses our levels of job and psychological maturity, supplies the tools to identify others’ behaviours and to adapt and to improvise with agility. Employees can build and sustain relationships by combining the skills of assertiveness and listening and asking “smart” questions.

2. Be Prepared to Manage and to Lead

The second fast track programme demonstrates how every employee can and should, be a manager and a leader. People say “leadership” but describe “management”. Change demands that everyone, at some time, takes on both roles.

The training defines the core competencies needed to manage and a clear understanding of what people look for in leaders. Everyone must feel comfortable using the delegation process, applying the discipline of time management, and allowing the teams to take ownership of their projects.

3. Business communication skills (written and spoken)

The third in the fast track series is that whether a valid or invalid measure, the lack of communication skills tags people as being less competent, less attractive, and less qualified to be effective.

The formula to success is not necessarily all competence. The formula is part competence and the rest is the ability to impart and articulate that competence by writing or presenting in a clear, concise, purposeful manner that has influence and impact.

Most people spend years developing knowledge and skills, yet spend almost no effort studying how to communicate them.

It is no accident that the outstanding leaders in business, industry, and government – in fact in all fields, are excellent communicators. It is reasonable to assume that several times in our lives our ability to write and present will make a difference in the advancement of our careers.

Communication is the soul of business: analysis and solid decisions translated into clear messages that influence people. Meetings need assertive and effective communication techniques. Whether you attend meetings as a participant or a leader, you are investing your time, presence, and preparation.

If these three fast track modules are applied together or over a period of three months employees will have acquired the self-confidence, self knowledge, skills, and techniques, which combined with sound common sense, will ensure that everyone can masterfully navigate all the uncertainties, feel responsible and accountable, be powerfully focused, and behave in a stable and balanced manner.

It will be absolutely essential that education play a leading role in dealing with a financial meltdown that dictates we will never again conduct business in the same way.

The education function must lead the development of a new kind of employee and a new way of thinking. The employees who become the most valuable and who will retain their jobs are those who are able to:

• work independently, as part of a team working toward common goals

• weigh the impact of decisions on all interested parties – involve all the stakeholders in the results of the decision

• adapt and improvise, with agility, to situations not faced previously

• innovate and create according to internal and external customer needs

• understand the business goals and objectives so that there is not an “unlicensed” approach

When training programmes are designed to give every employee the confidence, self-esteem, and skills to act as both leader and manager, no matter what the level or job function, any organisation will rise and prosper in these amazing, uncertain times.

Marlene Ward is one of the foremost facilitators in providing New Manager/Leadership readiness workshops.

After more than 3 decades with an International IT company, of which 15 were in Employee Development –she started her own consultancy. For over 30 years she has spoken and trained at numerous seminars and conferences.

For further information go to: www.marleneward.com

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