Leadership development is an essential aspect of any successful and competitive business.  In today’s business environment, effective, capable leaders are essential.  However, it is important that you take note of certain signs that may indicate your leaders or managers are not living up to their potential.  In recent news from Beyond Morale and Fistful of Talent, there are several characteristics or behaviors that may call for more effective leadership development.

Executives or leaders can exhibit bad behaviors that are detrimental to the reputation of the company.  Frequently, these behaviors have to do with employees; with good leadership development, you can be sure that the leaders or managers in your company are not guilty of these behaviors.

According to Fistful of Talent, some individuals in a leadership position are guilty of making off-hand comments about firing people, thinking it’s funny.  They may find something inappropriate that an employee says funny, even though there is a no-tolerance rule for harassment.  When other employees hear someone in a leadership role laughing at inappropriate talk by another employee, it diminishes their confidence in that leader.  Effective leadership development is essential so that those in positions of authority understand what is appropriate and what is not when it comes to managing staff members.

When someone in management talks bad or degrades an employee to other employees, it’s a very bad sign.  Any smart manager realizes that employees do engage in conversation with other employees, and that the one being talked badly about will find out.  Another area of leadership development that could use improvement is talking to employees about areas where they are lacking; it does not reflect well on the professionalism of a company to fire an employee without discussing their job performance or what could be done to help improve in areas where they are lacking.

Engaging employees is another area where good leadership development can be to your advantage.  If your company tends to have employees who aren’t very productive, they resist change, are often absent from work or don’t manage time well, a good leader can often change these things.  Even employees need to feel that they are part of the team, that they are capable of a job well done.  Leadership development programs teach those in management or authority roles how to manage employees, so that they are enthusiastic and motivated about their job, essentially driving them to work harder and try new things.

Proper leadership development allows you to change the culture of your company.  It is necessary to realize that employees are different; some are doers, others are thinkers, while still others are the ones who care, but may not be motivated enough to do anything about it.  This is where leadership development comes in; with the proper tools and insight, you can literally change the work environment in your company, substantially increasing efficiency, motivation and productivity.  Effective leadership development will help the leaders in your organization become more proficient in managing employees the RIGHT way, which greatly benefits the company as a whole.

Watch this video interview with Charles Bresler, EVP HR of The Men’s Wearhouse where he shares some tips about becoming a better leader and why you have to be constantly learning to be a better one.