Legacy Bowes Group Articles

The headline in the Free Press read, City sees healthy growth in economic development and reported the growth momentum was predicted to continue well into 2015. It’s nice to see Manitoba’s competitive advantage has been successful in attracting large world-class companies. At the same time, I am pretty proud of the large number of mid-sized, family-owned enterprises demonstrating success.

To continue growth momentum and to sustain world-class status, however, every organization, large or small, needs strong leadership. Leadership is the only way in which you will continue holding on to and sustaining competitive advantage. In today’s global market, the need for strong and effective leadership is unprecedented. Unfortunately, studies show only 30 to 40 per cent of organizations are well prepared to fill their vacant leadership positions should the need arise.

This raises the question: What is the status of your leadership team? Are you at risk from potential retirements? Do you have gaps in the leadership pipeline? Has the criteria for leadership in your organization changed? Are you failing to develop new leaders within your organization? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you need to take action now. Where do you start? The following guidelines will assist you in creating a foundation for leadership development within your organization.

Identify corporate competencies

It has probably been some time since you really paid attention to the skills and competencies needed for leadership, either currently and/or for the future. The first step is to confirm future business trends and determine your strategic plan. Once this is complete, identify the leadership competencies needed to realize your future by identifying just what leadership behaviours, knowledge, skills, abilities and personal attributes are required for continued success. Prioritize what you consider the core competencies because these are considered a must-have qualification for any candidate.

Following the rules is a strategy for career success

Things happen fast in a global world. In Malaysia, two Saskatchewan siblings ended up in court and were eventually deported after they -- along with others -- stripped naked on a mountain that's considered sacred and posted photos on social media. Not only did the photos go viral, they coincided with a terrible earthquake. Unfortunately, the social-media stunt was linked by the government to the natural disaster and the subsequent loss of life.

The often worst managed HR function can be a boon if well-implemented

As time creeps toward school-report season and that well-known Halloween gala event, many organizations are also looking at finally getting around to that dreaded report card or "performance review" process. You’ll notice I used the word "finally." I did so deliberately because performance reviews are almost always late or simply not done. In fact, the performance-management function is the worst managed area of the human resource field.