More enterprises are beginning to recognize the importance of leadership development, especially as baby boomers exit the workforce and younger employees step into managerial positions. While targeted, individual training programs are certainly critical for any staff member who is new to a supervisory role, a team-oriented mentality between the various leaders in a firm is equally important for consistent and long-term success in operations.

Christopher Mowles, writing for The Guardian, recently explained how leadership performances are just as reliant upon an ensemble cast as they are on the individuals in each given managerial position. He stated leaders need to be leveraging the strengths of those around them, including staff members who are above and below in the chain of command.

In fact, the author argued that taking a “heroic leadership” angle can be counterproductive, especially in the grand scheme of operational performance improvements. Instead, managers should be taught to depend upon the employees for whom they are responsible, as well as peers who have been in leadership positions for longer periods of time and higher-level executives.

Mowles recommended that companies try to leverage social leadership development programs, which have started to gain steam among certain organizations and come with a variety of benefits. The author stated that the corporate culture will always have a profound impact on both new and existing leaders, and working to leverage these characteristics instead of defy them can lead to stronger outcomes.

Mentoring programs are among the best ways to begin offering new managers a more social-oriented training framework, and have been especially effective for businesses that are experiencing high leadership turnover rates. By matching up new supervisors with those who understand the demands of the job on an intrinsic level, corporate continuity will be far better sustained over time.