Recently I had the chance to touch base with a long-time client who had taken a leadership role in a new company. I had worked with his previous organization for about four years until he left for a new opportunity. This was my chance to see what differences he noticed in the new business.

The company he is working for now is in the same industry as the last place he worked with a noticeable difference. The current organization has struggled while the company he came from was doing quite well. For the past few years, his current employer has been in a constant state of transition. He is the third president in about as many years. Business is down and morale is down.

This person is no stranger to building a company up. For the past ten years he had improved the performance of the business to make it a market leader. He did observe some new challenges here. As we began to talk about the people he was working with, he pointed out this group had never seen success and wondered if they had the confidence in their organization. Many of the employees had not worked here long. Most staff members had only worked here a few years compared to over ten at his last company. He observed that overall, the energy of the staff seemed low.

My client knew the history of most of the employees and many had come from other struggling companies. What added to the challenge was the commitment of the leadership team here. He pointed out that his leaders didn’t seem to have the same level of care as in his past company. By his opinion, they had taken much of what they were doing for granted. What’s worse is the problem was somebody else’s fault. Whether it be the economy or a poor performing employee, the leadership didn’t take ownership and weren’t accountable. This meant a lot of hand holding by the president followed by a lot of frustration.

People are the most important asset to any organization. Yet leadership is absolutely critical to gaining the most value out of that asset. When leadership fails, the company is sure to follow. My client knows this and is taking steps to improve the problem. Unfortunately there is a lot of repair work that needs to be done from the shortcomings of past managers.

What challenges do you face with leadership in your company? Top level executives know the strengths and weaknesses of their direct reports, but are they doing most to strengthen their skills? Much like a stone tossed into a pond, the impact of leadership creates ripples throughout the entire organization. We may take for granted a leaders lack of skills and hope they improve on their own, but do they ever? Coach, mentor, and be accountable. Most important, make others accountable as well. What you save in time and expense up front could cost you greatly in the end.