Leadership Impacts the Bottom Line

In any economic cycle, the basics still apply—you have to have a good business plan, you have to take care of your customers, and you have to take care of your people. Leaders are an important part of that process. After all, it is leaders who help employees set goals, make sure that those goals are in alignment with overall corporate strategy, and are responsible for providing the direction and support that employees need to succeed at work on a daily basis.

Even though change—like a leadership development initiative—can be disruptive, difficult, and financially challenging, taking no action is often the most expensive option of all. HR, OD, and training professionals can quantify the cost of doing nothing by looking at the impact that less-than-optimal leadership practices have on their organization. If they are like the leaders at other organizations who have used the Blanchard Cost-of-Doing-Nothing Calculator, they will be surprised to find that they too are leaving an amount equivalent to 7% of their total annual sales on the table each year through less than optimal leadership practices

Organizations need to make sure that they are getting the best out of their people by providing strong, consistent, and inspiring leadership. By evaluating and improving leadership practices throughout their organization, HR, OD, and training professionals can remove a persistent drain on financial performance that allows their organizations to grow and thrive