Awol – absence without leadership

Some nine years ago I made a presentation in a plenary session with PMAP. This is of course the People Management Association of the Philippines and I said that there are three major gaps I see in every industry I find:

1. The Skills Gap

2. The Values Gap

3. The Leadership Gap

Allow me to explain each one briefly. First, Skills Gap shows that schools are not churning out graduates that are fit to take on the job once they go through the interview and tests to step on board. The skills our academic institutions teach them, do not equip them with the necessary competencies and that is why business organizations spend a lot of time and money retraining them and retooling them.

And before we jump into the misplaced conclusion that schools are in a state of decline as far as their academic offerings are concerned we need to be fair. How do you equip students with emerging skills that are not yet there while they are merrily doing their homework in school campuses and libraries yet they will be there once they get out of schools?

Second is the Values Gap.The work values and attitude of Baby Boomers differ greatly with those of Generation X. And now the influx of Generation Y is occupying the work spaces and their life values, work ethics and mindsets are totally different.

Third gap for me is the most serious gap of them all. This is the Leadership Gap. Senior officers inside many business organizations have a hard time trying to catch up with the digital technology and they find it hard inspiring the Millennial and in many cases have been the reason why the young ones resign and leave. And then it hits them. The bench is shallow and there seems to be no viable succession plan in the offering.

Here are some more facts to consider:

By 2025, official estimates indicate that Millennials will comprise 75 percent of the global workforce. At the same time as their numbers in the workplace are growing daily, organizations around the world do not feel that they have an ample leadership pipeline to meet present and future needs.

An alarming 86 percent of respondents in the latest World Economic Forum of their survey respondents think there is a leadership crisis in the world today.

Many of my clients would confide in me and say that they are seriously worried about their leadership bench strength. And the latest shifts in demographics are creating a demand for inspiring leadership and they are so short in supply.

Meanwhile, you and I today are in the midst of the best economic opportunity presented and growth opportunities abound yet many young people are leaving and with all the perks and the promises of company benefits, many young people enter the company and in a short span of time leave simply because they could not get along with their senior bosses.

Kouzes and Posner indicate that another serious factor to consider and a sobering fact to add to this shortage of leadership and inadequate preparation is the global decline in the level of trust that people have in their leaders.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer—a highly respected annual study of trust in major institutions and their leaders—“the number of countries with trusted institutions has fallen to an all-time low among the informed public. Among the general population, the trust deficit is even more pronounced, with nearly two-thirds of countries falling into the distruster category.” Around the world people trust their leaders less and less—no wonder there is a leadership crisis.

So what do we have here? We have leaders that need to be updated and upgraded with their leadership skills and you have the young generation of people that need to be trained in the behavioral trainings that involve attitude and work values.

The question now is does your business organization have them both? And as a leader, are you upgrading and updating your leadership skills as well?

You cannot give what you do not have and you cannot share what you do not own.

Leaders are future-oriented and you cannot see the future if you constantly remain behind your desk. Leaders need to go out there into the trenches, continuously learn to lead more effectively and efficiently and harness the creative power and energy of the Millennials and bring the organization to the next level.

Do not allow your business organizations to be AWOL or “Absent without Leaders” because it will cost you.

(Bring your leaders to Makati Shangri-La and experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed and updated Level Up Leadership this September 13-14.  For further inquiries contact Jen of Inspire at +639178173736 or 6310912 or April at +639285591798)