There are encouraging signs that 2011 will be a better year for the world and UK economies. The US stock market is back at levels last seen in 2008 before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. The UK FTSE 100 is hovering around the 6,000 level and UK business confidence is starting to return, partially led by growth in manufacturing exports. Stock market investors are making a judgement that the worst is now behind us and that growth will soon be upon us. No doubt there will be pain in 2011, not least with job losses and spending cuts in the UK public sector, but at least there will be some positive developments in the economy to counterbalance this.
So how should organisations respond? There is no doubt that many businesses have cut back on their learning and development budgets during the tougher times. However valid the reasons were for this, during a business restructuring or slimming down of the organisation, this is not a sustainable long term strategy. The dust is beginning to settle on the turmoil of recent years so now is the time to review the capabilities of an organisation’s leadership and management. A candid assessment of their skills will create opportunities for raising their performance.
Slimmer organisations call for more capable and effective leaders: Leaders who are action centred, with strong interpersonal skills that can bring the best out of the teams they lead – leaders who can lead their teams to higher levels of performance and who are equipped to tackle future challenges.
So like stock market investors, organisations should now be making the investments in training and development that will equip them to raise their performance in 2011 and beyond. Those that do will reap the long term benefits.
By Jon Davies | Righttrack’s Interim International Business Development and Marketing Manager