Providing clarity in an increasingly complex environment

Why leadership frameworks are critical

With leaders being asked to balance exponentially complex and competing priorities, many are understandably confused about what is expected of them. Therefore, it’s vital for organisations to support their leaders through this chaos – clearly articulating what they want from them in terms of how they lead, the culture they’d like them to cultivate, as well as what the business priorities are – thus providing some clarity amidst the ambiguity of today’s working environment.

The easiest way to provide this clarity is to formalise the process via a company specific leadership framework. This provides a benchmark for all leaders and prevents them from falling into the trap of leading according to their own belief systems, while ensuring the workforce benefits from one consistent approach to leadership. Organisations can then:

Uncover critical
skill gaps

Measuring the leaders who are already in-role, against the leadership criteria that has been determined as pivotal for future success, provides your organisation with objective data on leadership capabilities, strengths and skills gaps, helping to inform talent decisions and strategy.

Develop leader
pipelines

Our latest data found 1 in 2 HR professionals predict a shortfall of leaders in the next five years. Which is why developing the next generation of talent internally - using reliable assessment methods that link to your organisation’s leadership requirements - is essential.

Select and onboard the
right talent

With 40% of leaders failing within the first 18 months of a new role, selecting and onboarding skilled leaders who are aligned to the culture and values of your organisation is critical. Using tools that predict performance, remove bias and establish what leaders are capable of, will ensure they thrive.

Accelerate leader
development

Providing focused, coach-supported leader development opportunities that are guided by definitive assessment outcomes, will help your leaders substantially increase their productivity, resulting in an ROI of nearly seven times the initial investment.

Ensure continuity with succession planning

Maximise the ROI of leader development programmes by cultivating future leaders who are aligned with your organisational requirements, and preparing them for smooth transitions. According to research, fewer than 1 in 10 UK businesses have a formalised plan for succession.

^{Leveraging assessment data, based on an organisation’s specific leadership requirements, will help organisations predict success, invest in the right talent and target their development budgets. Assessments provide the insights needed to cultivate effective leaders and drive organisational success.}

Pippa Cronk, Senior Consultant - Right Management

With the right leadership framework in place, organisations thrive. However, creating and implementing a framework isn’t a one and done process, which is why it's extremely worrying that our latest data revealed that over half (58%) of businesses either don’t have a leadership framework in place, or believe it is no longer relevant.

To leverage the full potential of any framework, businesses must utilise up-to-date research and reliable measurements to enable regular reviews and adjustments that align with the evolving world of work context, and any changes to the overarching organisational goals. Failure to conduct these updates will result in an outdated and irrelevant framework, as well as pushback from business leaders.