Participants at Leadership Development and Performance Enhancement for Public Servants in Lagos State.
In a piece of advice directed at the management of organisations, Fionnuala Courtney stated that, “the success of leadership training always depends on how it is done. Think back to the best manager you have ever had. I’m sure you can remember the person because good leaders are memorable… and excellent leaders are unforgettable. What was it about their leadership that motivated and encouraged you? For that same reason, I bet you can also remember your worst leader. Great leaders move us and inspire us to do our best work. That said, it is important that you have effective leaders in your workplace to empower and influence your people to achieve business and team goals.
Since my assumption of office, I have regarded it as my core mission to pursue the conduct of trainings and workshops aimed at increasing the competencies and productivity of individual officers with a view to contributing to the overall productivity and effectiveness of the Lagos State Public Service.
As is well known, this core mission is in full consonance with the wider objectives of the government of Lagos State led by His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode fully recognizes the enormous value that knowledge and skills training bring to bear on the attainment of the strategic objectives of the government and the public service of Lagos State. Furthermore, he has always been in the vanguard of advocating for the institutionalisation of essential training programmes that benefit the most strategically-placed officers in the Lagos State Public Service.
High performances have been known to increase in organizations that expose their human capital to leadership development through training programmes and I believe that the learning outcomes of trainings of the Public Service will translate into more dynamism, effectiveness and efficiency for the Lagos State Public Service.
The earlier-cited HR expert, Fionnuala Courtney, further stated the good news that “leaders can be created through effective leadership training” while articulating six of the big benefits that leadership training can offer any organisation. According to her submissions, any organisation, including the Lagos State Public Service, can benefit from leadership trainings as follows:
a. Leadership Trainings Increase productivity.
The right, consistent leadership can increase the productivity of the people in an organisation. At its primal level, leadership is about understanding people emotionally. She stated that, in a book titled, The New Leaders, Daniel Goleman states that emotional intelligence is critical to the success of a leader. Emotional intelligence involves being smart about emotions and using empathy effectively to empower and engage employees. Leadership training that encompasses emotional intelligence can hone these emotional skills in people managers and leaders.
b. Leadership Trainings Help Retain People. Ms. Courtney stated that 75% of people voluntarily leaving jobs don’t quit their jobs but in fact ‘quit their bosses’! This means that employees leave because of ineffective managers and managers with poor leadership skills. By investing in leadership trainings, an organisation can retain its people and reduce costly recruitment expenses.
c. Leadership Trainings Help Nurture Future Leaders. Organisations need to be strategic about developing and nurturing future leaders. Without strategy, leadership roles are often given to the most forward candidates with dominant personalities. Quality leadership is a combination of the right qualities and the right training. Identify those who have what it takes and provide them with targeted leadership training. Nurturing future leaders supports succession planning and offers career pathways to employees, further increasing retention.
d. Leadership Trainings Increase employee engagement. We all like to know how we are progressing in our roles, receiving praise when it is well-earned and constructive feedback as necessary. In fact, 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week compared to only 18% of those with low engagement. Giving feedback is a skill of successful leaders. Through leadership trainings, organisations can teach effective ways to give feedback to motivate and increase the skill level of their people.
e. Leadership Trainings Implement an Effective Leadership Style.
Leadership trainings can assist in implementing the most appropriate leadership style for organisations and the work they do. There are several leadership styles, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. Leadership trainings can also help individual leaders develop their own personal leadership style that their team members will best respond to.
f. Leadership Trainings Help People Make Better Decisions.
Last, but absolutely not the least: Leadership trainings can result in better decision-making. How? Because leaders functioning at a high level of emotional intelligence have the perspective to make informed, intelligent business decisions. For that reason alone, organisations can consider their leadership training investments returned.
The six expositions above by Ms. Courtney succinctly articulate the outcomes that the government hopes to realise from training and the many other similar trainings taking place from time to time. Indeed, the need for ensuring and assuring the efficiency and effectiveness of public institutions has never been greater than now. In a dynamic age of constant changes, it is widely agreed that institutions must have clearly-defined missions that are relevant to the needs and aspirations of its stakeholders. Following this, the human capital at the helm of leadership in these institutions must have the courage to envision a future that realizes the attainment of the defined mission of the institutions. In order to actualize the vision, however, leaders must be trained to possess both the hard and soft skills that are fundamental for success. This is where this training programme becomes relevant.
It is indisputable that organisations will make rapid progress and experience exponential growth when its units and teams and departments are headed by persons who understand what leadership means and who have developed their leadership potentials and have enhanced their performance skills. As I have severally stated at different occasions, to such an organisation, no problem will be too complicated, no task too herculean, no challenge too huge, and no task too complicated for it to confront head-on.
I therefore challenge all Public Servants to join in envisioning our dear Lagos State Civil Service as an organisation where no problem will be too complicated, no task too herculean, no challenge too huge, and no task too complicated for it to confront head-on. You should therefore regard this training as yet another effort at kick-starting the monumental task of helping every officer of the public service become impactful, influential and productive to such degrees that the output of the Lagos State Civil Service will inspire our dear citizens.
We expect that a public servant in Lagos State should be able and empowered to set a clear vision regarding his duties and effectively communicate it to colleagues, providing them with a clear understanding of the desired direction.
He or she should fully appreciate and understand that effective planning is important when it comes to meeting organisational goals, should be able to provide stability, inspiration, courage and direction during times of crisis and when dealing with relationships between co-workers; should have improved employee relations and more closely align his/her team and individual objectives; and should be regarded as an indispensable contributor to growth such that the Lagos State Public Service maintains its effectiveness, productivity and competitiveness.
In addition to benefitting the organisation, leadership training courses such as the ones that have been held also benefits the individual. It has been said that, “In order to make the most of your proficiency in the workplace, it is important to develop your leadership skills. Whilst talent and a good work ethic will take you to a certain level, learning how to lead will get you to the top of the tree. If you can demonstrate that you know how to lead, you will often be rewarded with a position that carries more responsibility, the ability to delegate and, of course, a good salary. Those who can lead know how to make important decisions that affect both themselves and people across the business, without deferring to anyone else. This is an absolute necessity for getting ahead within business – as long as you can prove the decisions you made were the right ones…”
Anyone who can demonstrate this ability will not only go far but will become a prized jewel in any organization and be given leadership positions. This is because, according to Harlan Cleveland, “Leaders are problem solvers by talent and temperament, and by choice.”
One of the leadership competencies that has proved especially indispensable is that of problem-solving skills. One of the modern writers on skills development in the workplace, Alison Doyle, noted that, “In nearly every sector, problem solving is one of the key skills that employers seek…It is hard to find a blue collar, administrative, managerial, or professional position that doesn’t require problem solving skills of some kind.”
Indeed, as part of engagement and promotional interviews, it is now common place for officers to be required to describe situations they encountered in previous roles, the processes they followed to address the problems, the skills they applied, and the results of their actions.
Now, behavioural scientists have been able to study and codify the ‘best-practice’ stages to solving problems. While this workshop is not directly focused on the development of this skill, I am sure that the general leadership essentials to be taught in this workshop will provide insights into how the competencies can be applied to solve problems.
Governor Ambode hopes to transform public servants into better leaders and prized officers of the Lagos State Civil Service who can be entrusted with responsibilities and projects, having been equipped with the skills that can enhance service delivery and solve the critical problems confronting our dear State. He is confident that if you learn, understand and imbibe the principles, you will help in his endeavour and commitment to maintain the foremost place of the Lagos State Civil Service in the comity of civil service organisations in Nigeria, Africa and in the world.
Excepts: (Being the Keynote Address delivered by the Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola, Benson Oke, FCArb, at the Opening Session of the 2-Day Workshop tagged: ‘Leadership Development & Performance Enhancement for Public Servants in Lagos State’ organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in conjunction with Messrs. XLS Consulting Limited in Lagos).
