Barriers to Leadership Development are Internal Business Threats
Navigating business threats is a leadership responsibility. Effective leadership is as alert to external factors (shifts in competitor activity, global trends and customer demands) as to internal workplace dynamics including challenges and barriers to the development of leadership potential. How effectively a leader balances these two dynamics depends on two factors - their capacity to lead, reflected in their
leadership competencies,
and their habitual, patterns of response, shaped by personal and professional blind spots.
Effective leaders enable productive workplaces
The leader is responsible for creating a functional workplace. This requires a shared understanding of: - Roles and responsibilities
- Relationships
- Authority
- Accountabilities, and
- Expectations.
Lack of clarity can quickly result in a toxic workplace culture featuring: - A high stress environment
- Poor communication
- Office politics
- Workflow problems
- Diminished productivity and
- Staff disengagement.
As talent shortages increase, company loyalty and employees willingly sacrificing their life-work balance for career promotions become a thing of the past.
A healthy workplace gets you the edge in the war for talent.

Unchecked job-stress can affect the bottom line
If job stress persists
and demands on employees exceed their capacity, chronic stress can lead to burnout. In this state of mental and emotional depletion, the body is prone to develop
signs of stress
which may lead to: - Attendance issues
- Burnout
- Project or business failure
Ten Top Causes of Job Stress
- The treadmill syndrome. Unclear priorities or work overload requiring the 24 hour workday.
- Random interruptions.
- Doubt. Job insecurity because of downsizing and cutbacks.
- Mistrust. Office politics disrupt positive behavior. A lack of support or help from co-workers or supervisors
- Unclear company direction. Lack of communication between management and between peers.
- Career and role ambiguity. Lack of control over how the job is to be performed, unclear job expectations.
- Inconsistent performance management processes. Employees get raises with no reviews or get positive evaluation, but are laid off afterward.
- Feeling unappreciated. A job perceived to be meaningless or offering little satisfaction
- Lack of professional development opportunities. Few or no prospects of career growth, advancement or promotion
- Conflict between work and family responsibilities.
Source: The Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health
Job Stress a Global Epidemic
The World Health Organization has identified
job stress as a global epidemic.
Coaching is a proven method
of helping organization’s develop their leadership capacity to address and overcome barriers to leadership development. An organization’s own business data is an excellent starting point to
prepare a business case for a strategic coaching initiative.
What Our Coaching Services Provide
A comprehensive approach to developing leadership potential:
- Leadership development workshops
Executive coaching
Leadership coaching
Team coaching
Career coaching

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