The search for leaders of the future begins inside an organisation, says Mandy Messenger
The ageing work population is a key factor in the development of future business leaders. Across all industry sectors, including the insurance industry, the fact that older individuals are staying longer in the workplace means the focus on bringing future leaders through is being ignored.
But a company ignores the development of its young talent at its peril.
For failure to tackle this issue threatens the business's future growth and prosperity.
Effective leaders in business are expensive and, naturally, organisations are going to demand a lot of them. You can recruit leaders, or you can develop the talent you already have. But how do you go about tailoring leadership development to get the best results?
The answer is by taking a holistic and structured approach to leadership development. Not only will you increase the chance of a solid return on your investment, but you will also, in the process, recognise the very people that make up the human assets that are your business.
The starting point in leadership development is to gain a full understanding of the potential of your future leaders: what they can do, how they do it and why they do it. This should be done with a realistic view about the roles they aspire to and what needs to be done to get them there.
The three dimensions - the what, the how and the why - work together to describe the development needs of an individual. For a leadership role, ideally you want someone fully competent in all three areas.
If there are any gaps in a person's competencies, they can be bridged by specific training or involvement in strategic project work addressing a real business issue. For example, someone who, though highly motivated with great personal style, lacks some knowledge and skill can benefit from participation in a relevant business school programme.
When assessing abilities, competencies and track record, take a look at the candidate's CV to see how he achieved goals. This is more about the specific behaviours he employed, rather than his personal style.
Finally, look at what he or she is interested in, and motivated by. Is he hungry for the next challenge or does he just want security? Is he forever trying to do things differently?
If you find someone who is a great performer both on the 'what' and the 'how', but is not currently motivated, focus on recognising and rewarding his achievements. These people are pure gold and have the potential to make a significant contribution to your business's success.
Retaining these individuals should be a key objective. Find out what would motivate them, identify their needs and interests and work with them to address these areas.
An individual may be happy to focus on his current position. If that is the case then simply leave him alone. Keep an eye open as motivations change. He may make an excellent business mentor.
Identifying the make-up of a good leader - those who have the talents to get to the top and stay there - is a process that continues to evolve.
There have been significant changes in the focus of leadership development in recent times.
Traditionally, western business and academic organisations focused on intellectual abilities and brainpower, the qualities often assessed using IQ tests. But this alone does not predict the success of a leader. Indeed, many believe that, as a leader's responsibilities increase, so does the need for other qualities - the ability to understand others and manage relationships and also to understand and manage oneself. These qualities have been termed 'emotional intelligence'.
As a leader develops throughout his career, different aspects of his talents are important to help make him competent at the next level of responsibility. Moving from leading one functional department, through to leading a whole organisation, requires different talents. This means that the very abilities and predispositions that allowed a person to excel in his early roles may work against him as he moves up into becoming a manager of managers.
Sadly, many great people are promoted into responsibilities that are a poor match for their personal talents. When looking to nurture future leaders, it is critical to look beyond a simple assessment of their performance in the current role. The rough diamond of the future will rarely sparkle when first encountered. It needs to be refined and polished.
For organisations looking to invest in future top talent, this causes a dilemma. How do you get to know about this talent if the local line management is focusing on assessing the ability to do the current role?
As motivation is a key component of those prepared meet the challenges of top leadership, let them put themselves forward but ensure you are clear about what you are looking for. Then have a cost-effective, initial way of offering feedback on the match of talents with key indicators of future abilities, such as an online measurement tool.
Knowing what a diamond in the rough looks like will help organisations avoid over-stretching great talent and crushing those gems that are invaluable in other roles across the organisation. It will also help to discover and develop untapped talent till it shines.
Five key things you must do to develop your future leaders:
- Invest in understanding what motivates individuals on a personal level
- Look at the individual's potential beyond performance in his current role
- Develop and reward people for both what they do and how they do it
- Ensure your investment in leadership matches specific needs
- Ethical leadership is the future - focus your development on this too.
