Page 144 - Finanancial Management_2022

LEARNING RESOURCES
Link leadership development
to organisational goals
A leadership development programme
Owning Your Leadership: Building Extraordinary designed without a clear goal in mind is
Relationships Beginning With Self
“the surest way to spend a lot of money
Gain a deeper understanding of the leadership and and not be able to show anything for it”,
relationship skills you’ll need to be an effective leader from Cléret said. “You have to start by
any position — it starts with managing self. identifying the objectives of the
COURSE programme and then retro-engineer your
design back from that end goal. This will
enable [you] to set milestones and monitor
Leading the Shift: Leadership for Financial Professionals in that you are on the right track,” she added.
the 21st Century
Learn new communication and accountability tools, team Be prepared for surprising — and
engagement and alignment strategies, and tactics to sometimes uncomfortable — feedback
improve execution, influence, and impact. It is possible that employees don’t perform
at their highest potential because the
VIDEO organisational system doesn’t allow them
to, or even because the leadership of the
senior team could be improved.
Emotional Intelligence
“Leadership development programmes are
The course defines emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) so wonderful tools to bring blind spots into
you can identify and manage your own emotions and the the light, which can be quite
emotions of others, enabling you to greatly increase your uncomfortable,” Cléret suggested.
chances of personal and professional success.
Find this course in the AICPA Store and in the CGMA Store. Return on investment
There are two questions to ask when
COURSE
considering the effectiveness of leadership
skills development, Cléret said:
• Does the programme enhance the level
of skill and knowledge of the
opportunities. The immersive experience Before you invest individual?
can be in person or online but is in a live Businesses should consider four points • Is the learning effective in enhancing
format with a trainer.” before funding employees to sign up for the company’s overall performance?
Learning from others has many experiential learning programmes, She suggested that businesses show
benefits, she suggested: “Becoming according to Cléret. They are: confusion with respect to the issue of
inspired by others can open pathways and effectiveness. “ ‘Yes’ to question one
create space for [an] individual to work Invest in programmes when the doesn’t necessarily mean ‘yes’ to question
outside their comfort zone, to take company is succeeding two. Sometimes the answer to question
chances, and expand their abilities.” “These programmes are performance- two is ‘no’ for reasons completely
enhancers, not problem-fixers,” Cléret independent to the training programme,
Financial cost said. The programmes are expensive, and and the inaccurate conclusion is often
Providing experiential learning to change behaviours takes time — longer made that the answer to one is ‘no’,” she
opportunities for employees requires an periods for larger companies. She said: “If said.
initial financial investment. Experiential your company is already in financial Having a team of employees who are
learning, Buscarino said, requires “more trouble, this is not necessarily the right more developed at a personal level with
time to learn, apply, and report”. She place to start. If your company is already enhanced human skills is only one of the
added: “It requires organisations and doing well and you are looking at how to tools required for business success, she
individuals to make a larger upfront take things to the next level, this is the said.
commitment, with the trust that this way to go.” “Experiential learning will not address
learning style will produce longer-lasting directly product and process. Therefore,
results.” Include an evaluation process in the concluding that there was no ROI on a
She suggested that “time-spaced programme design leadership development programme can
learning” allows individuals to try new The biggest reason that leadership be a short cut,” she said. ■
approaches and report back on them development programmes sometimes
weekly. “Time-spaced training also helps “provide a feeling of wasted money” is that
to foster community in the training room, they are not evaluated rigorously, or not at To comment on this article or
which in turn supports additional growth all, Cléret said. A proper evaluation to suggest an idea for another
as people feel safe to take risks and are process will help focus the programme article, contact Oliver Rowe at
inspired by others,” she said. and provide you with all the KPIs. Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.

26 I FM MAGAZINE I August 2022