Editorial

Citation

Gimson, A. (2014), "Editorial", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 28 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLO-09-2014-0062

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, Volume 28, Issue 5

One of the most inspirational leaders I was lucky enough to work with for a time was a quiet, considered and you would have said “not-at-all-charismatic person”. But in truth he was. The reason that this particular Chief Executive Officer was such a great role model was that you could trust him – to do what he said; to say openly how things were from his point of view; to readily listen to challenges and suggestions and to ask you those astute questions that helped your own thinking.

Our Viewpoint from Marielena Sabatier tackles this issue of trust in leadership head-on, exploring why trust is so vital and providing seven very useful tips for leaders to follow to build, or rebuild, the trust of those around them.

There is no mention of a course or program amongst the tips in the above article and yet, when considering how to develop effective leaders, a skills-based development approach is all too often the first thought. In our second article, Karen Meager and John McLachlan first share their research on “good” leaders, identifying five characteristics, or what the authors call “traits”. Second, they set out their conclusions on what leadership development needs to look like in the future. They call for a “whole-person” approach that, amongst other things, provides a confidential environment with space for reflection and the development of “emotional regulation”.

When deciding on development approaches, the phrase “70:20:10” is a regular buzz-word within L&D teams these days and you will see it included in many organizational learning strategies. However, when you look at where the budget and energy goes, is it all too often directed at the “20:10” end of the spectrum? If you are keen to assist your line managers to recognize the key role they play in facilitating learning, Jay Cohen’s article is for you. In addition to some useful practical suggestions, he explains why it is sometimes so difficult for people to recognize and value the learning that weaves its way in and out of their daily activity.

In a specific example of how line managers can support learning whilst achieving results, Komal Khandelwal Das, Subrata Das and Ashwani Kumar Upadhayay look at the world of sales. They call for Sales Managers to work more on their coaching, mentoring and technological capabilities. The research studied suggests the need for a better balance between a focus on the hard results and investing energy and time to develop each team member as a “whole person”.

Improving staff morale is also a key element in getting results, and Paul White suggests that showing appreciation will have a positive impact. His concept of “authentic appreciation” is well worth considering, and his four recommendations go way beyond any superficial “Employee Recognition” schemes. How many marks out of ten would you give yourself (or your line manager) for how well you show your genuine appreciation for other people’s efforts and results?

Our first review article “Time for leaders to “unmanage”” also deals with how to improve results – but perhaps not in the way you might expect. The fields of neuroscience and social neuroscience are applied to organizational domains with an intriguing notion of expanding the organizational ‘sweet spots’ where informal systems overlap with formal systems and allow innovation and increased productivity to emerge.

From sweet spots to ‘blind spots’, our second piece, “When talent management goes wrong”, flags the problems caused by mechanistic and process-driven talent management processes that are way out of line with our developing understanding of human nature and what motivates someone to do a great job at work.

Our final review article takes us right back to where we started – to trust – but this time at the organizational level. “Why it pays to be ethical” delves into the links between establishing an ‘ethical’ business and the potential impact on reputation, sales activity, customer satisfaction and innovation.

Many countries and hundreds of thousands of individuals continue to reel from the poor ethics involved in the 2007/8 crash. Maybe when Socrates said “The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear”, he hit the nail on the head?

Anne Gimson

Anne Gimson is based at Strategic Developments International, Valencia, Spain.