Need to Develop New Leaders? Read On…
A few years ago I was in Germany coaching a group of high potentials - employees who had been selected by their managers as outstanding candidates for the next generation of leaders. My client (an international organization in the high-tech industry) invests substantially in training, coaching, and mentoring opportunities for this talented group of professionals.
The company’s commitment to leadership development is in direct contrast to what I’ve seen in many other organizations. Definitive, purposeful succession planning is rare, even at the very highest corporate levels. Too often the “bench strength” in leadership is so poor that careers stall because no one else has been groomed as a management successor.
Effective leadership is a crucial source of competitive advantage, and corporations can’t just wait for leaders to arrive, fully developed. Organizations that actively seek out people with leadership potential and find ways to nurture and develop that potential, make a serious commitment of both time and resources to do it right.
The process begins with the early identification of leadership talent, and the realization that under certain circumstances, leadership potential is easy to spot. In times of chaos or crisis, there are people who organically rise to the top. They are proactive, reliable, thoughtful, and they automatically take control. These natural leaders speak up – and other people listen to them because they’re providing solutions, not just stating problems.
Identifying new leaders is something that all current leaders should be responsible for – and that policy is most effective if it starts at the top. CEOs and presidents need to spend time focused on this issue, assessing leadership strengths as well as current and future organizational requirements. And leadership development should start early. Ten or fifteen years before a person is expected to be at their full potential, current management should be discussing how to develop this individual. The most valuable conversation will center on how people use their time: How can their skills be leveraged in new ways? Who needs to know these people? Who should be working with them, coaching and mentoring them? What experiences would be the most advantageous?
Spotting potential leaders is also a smart move for managers who want to advance their own careers. As one savvy leader told me, “The minute I begin a new assignment, I start looking for people who can be groomed as my successor. I know that I won’t be able to take the next step until someone else can take over my current job.”
But leadership development isn’t only about acquiring business skills. It’s also about effective mental preparation. According to Robert Dilenschneider, CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, the key is learning to keep a sense of perspective:
“Keeping your balance at all times can be extremely difficult. Since leaders play the game at the highest and lowest levels, they experience the glory of the victories as well as the disappointment of setbacks and failures. The trick is not to let the glory go to your head nor let the disappointments devastate you.”
How I agree! Giving people the freedom to succeed and fail – and the guidance to help them deal with both – may be the best leadership development strategy of all.
