How to grow new-style leaders
Ann Edwards, practice manager at Executive Training SHL, looks for mentoring and coaching schemes suitable for high performers in today's international marketplace.
The recent CEML report should act as a sobering wake-up call for UK organisations. Already struggling in the aftermath of recent economic and terrorist events, the report warns organisations' troubles are far from over if they fail to address the soft skills deficit at senior management level currently damaging UK companies.
Organisations now have to re-evaluate the importance placed on effective leadership and management in good times and in bad. Slowly, a shift is taking place. As a result, the much admired pioneers and hard-nosed tycoons of the 90s are stepping aside for a new breed of leaders - charismatic visionaries at the helm of organisations, concentrating on values, ethics and communication.
In response, forward-thinking companies are refocusing their executive education strategies and increasing their development budgets to include coaching and mentoring. These are aimed at developing 'home-grown' talent and retaining potential leaders in a time when CEOs are in post for an average of just 18 months.
Short-term views
As the baby boomers reach retirement age, the challenge facing organisations today is identifying potential leaders from a decreasing talent pool. They must then foster them in keeping with future corporate goals and culture while nurturing and developing the new balance of soft and hard skills needed, including the way leaders relate to people, enthusiasm, thinking style and motivation.
Traditionally, organisations have adopted a short-term, 'agenda-setting' approach to the recruitment of leaders. This is epitomised by the tendency to parachute in a replacement from outside an organisation when recruiting senior people. However, the replacement is typically just that - someone with identical values and leadership techniques, rather than a successor best suited to the future goals and values of the organisation. This is the quick fix, the expensive option. Why? Because the person best suited to the job is often already there. You just haven't identified them yet.
Transformational training
Developing the new generation of leaders begins very simply. You must understand what your organisation needs, define what leadership means there and establish what leadership skills and attributes are needed to drive the organisation forward. This is the first step and will help you refine who your next leader will be.
Today's leaders still need to be traditional agenda setters, but they must also be transformational leaders - managers who lead by example, who recognise their core personality strengths and soft skills and are trained to use them in their managerial capacity. By aligning soft skills and behaviours with organisational goals in this way tomorrow's inspirational, dynamic leaders are born.
With this in mind, the next step is identifying the existing talent pool.
This can be done most effectively through a comprehensive talent and management development review using questionnaire-based methodologies and leading-edge psychometrics and psychological assessment.
This process will help establish 'best fits' for roles and provide the platform for change. Individuals must then carry the process forward by using in-house coaching and mentoring programmes.
Support is then essential to ensure the success of the chosen leader. The role of coach and mentor is vital at this point. Usually someone external, these professionals provide essential, independent assistance and coach the change in behaviour required.
In addition, a commitment to continue taking snapshots of the individual's progress is then needed. Traditionally, management development has been regarded as a one-off event. However, today's coaching and mentoring programmes should be viewed as ongoing processes. Leaders, with the support of organisations, need to continually ask: Where am I now? Has where I need to be changed? If so, what do I need to do?
The sad fact is that today's talented managers are tomorrow's under-performing managers, unless they adapt to ever-changing demands and adopt new leadership approaches. However, the good news is that a more cost-effective, homogeneous workforce is waiting just round the corner.
Just follow the leader.
