Poor leadership is the number one factor that negatively affects individual performance, according to the latest whitepaper from specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.
The whitepaper, titled Developing High-Performing Teams to Drive Business Performance and Engagement, surveyed more than 250 hiring managers and almost 700 professionals across Australia and New Zealand on the factors that help build high-performing teams.
When asked what negatively impacted their performance most, 32% of professionals said poor leadership. This was followed by not having clearly defined goals and objectives, and not being adequately recognised for high performance.
The whitepaper also found that 80% of professionals believe poor leadership decreases trust and openness.
Managing director of Robert Walters in Australia and New Zealand James Nicholson said, “The most effective teams have a good team dynamic in terms of culture, skills and personality fit, are led with shared accountability, have clearly defined goals and objectives, and receive recognition for their good work. Conversely, poor leadership, team conflict, undefined goals and objectives and zero recognition for good work are key drivers of disengagement, dissatisfaction and underperforming teams.”
The survey focused on four key themes related to high-performing teams, and it found that:
– 63% organisations may be missing out on top talent due to inflexible selection criteria
– More than half of professionals feel their organisation does not do enough to reward high performance
– Almost half of professionals said they were managed with a top-down leadership style, where leaders make decisions without consulting team members, but 95% of professionals preferred other more consultative leadership styles
– 61% of professionals believe varied and interesting work is the factor that keeps them most engaged in their roles
– 51% of hiring managers feel that their organisation does not do enough to keep their employees engaged
Unfortunately too true. Managers tend to get promoted who have technical skills or strategic competence, not because of leadership skills. They then arent’ given the resources to develop in this essential area. Once they “rise to the level of their incompetence”, this is a productivity killer.