Would you believe me if I told you that a major corporation was requiring it’s sales force to watch (from beginning to end) the movie "Field of Dreams." Or how about some other flight of fancy? Sure you would…you may have experienced this type of desperation yourself.
I’m always amazed at how corporations pay so much attention to "budgets" when the market is favorable. But when things head south, you begin to see every type snake oil salesman, every lofty principle, or some goofy diversion to save the day. Like the husband whose wife has the bags packed, because she can’t stand being ignored any longer, so it is with those that neglect leadership development. Desperation sets in and fear takes root.
Do you realize that many enterprises consider leadership a soft skill. Soft? When you think of Colin Powell do you think of soft? That mind-set certainly makes my mission interesting. When organizations dedicate only five percent of their budget to development around leadership, you know they don’t believe in growing. Again, watch the behavior when things head south.
Regardless of our position in an organization, we should speak passionately about investing in growth (leadership). Every voice counts in this struggle…some have been silent for too long.