Don is the award-winning business coach and CEO of Accountability Now, now helping clients increase revenue on average 35% in 90 days.
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In tough economic times, it's more important than ever for companies to invest in developing their leaders. After all, effective leadership is key to overcoming the unique challenges that arise during a recession and driving the company forward. In this article, I will break down both the importance of investing in leadership development as well as three strategies companies can use to approach leadership development during an economic downturn.
Why invest in leadership development?
Developing strong leaders is critical to the success of any organization. When faced with economic uncertainty, companies must ensure that their leadership team is equipped to navigate the challenges and drive the company forward. The three tactics outlined below can help identify potential leaders within the organization, provide targeted training and development opportunities and ensure that the entire team is aligned around the company's goals and vision. By investing in leadership development, companies can position themselves for long-term success, even in challenging economic times.
1. Invest in training and development.
When facing an economic recession, leaders need to be equipped with the skills needed to overcome challenges and lead their teams toward success. I am frequently asked in my coaching practice about methods to improve future leaders, especially during economic pressure. I continue to recommend the time and experience-proven strategy that companies focus on building a competitive advantage by offering training and development programs not only as a benefit for recruiting but a long-term insurance policy.
Here are two case examples of companies that are using training and development in their organizations.
Microsoft
Microsoft has a variety of programs designed to help people develop leadership skills. These programs come in a variety of different forms, like in-person training, online courses, coaching and mentorship. In 2020, Microsoft invested $20 million in a program called "Accelerate: Upskilling for a Digital Economy," which offers free online training in digital skills to help potential employees prepare for jobs in the digital economy.
AT&T
AT&T also has many programs to help its employees improve leadership. Their offerings vary from in-person development to online training, working with a coach or getting a mentor. In 2020, they invested $1 billion in a program called "Future Ready" to help employees learn new skills so they're ready for the jobs of the future.
Here are three questions I recommend leaders ask themselves when considering an investment in a learning and development initiative within their own operations.
1. How are we currently investing in learning and development?
2. Can we do this in a cost-effective way through virtual solutions?
3. Will this solution provide resources so people can find their own help?
2. Encourage learning and development in your culture.
Encouraging learning and development is an essential aspect of leadership development during an economic recession. Many companies provide different resources, opportunities and options to support their teams in continuing to learn, practice and develop different skill sets. Here is one case example of a company building a culture that encourages learning and development every single day.
PwC
To keep their employees growing and developing, PwC has many offerings, including online courses, mentorship and coaching. They also recently made their "Digital Fitness App" available to the public for free, which can help employees figure out what they need to learn and create personalized learning plans.
Here are two questions for leaders to consider when considering how to implement a culture of learning and development at their own company.
1. Does my team have access easy to education options that we can provide?
2. How can we celebrate when people learn and develop independently?
3. Provide opportunities for growth.
A final way companies continue to help build future leaders is by providing their workers with opportunities for growth, such as working on new and exciting projects, collaborating with different teams and taking on challenging leadership roles. Here are two case examples from companies doing so.
Google encourages employees to pursue new projects and roles within the company. The company also continues to offer a "20% time" program, in which employees can spend 20% of their time on projects that interest them or align with their career goals.
Meta
Meta is big on new projects. They provide employees with opportunities for growth by using cross-functional team collaborations combined with new challenging projects. The company also offers a "Bootcamp" program, where employees can learn new skills and work on projects to develop their expertise.
Here are two questions to consider for leaders looking to optimize their own employees' opportunities for growth.
1. Do we have challenging projects created with people development as a goal?
2. Do we prioritize team collaboration?
Are you investing in leadership development initiatives?
In an economic downturn, it is vital that a company gets really smart about upskilling its workforce and developing leaders. By applying the right strategies in its leadership development, a company sets itself up for long-term success.
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