Grow Your Own Leaders: How to Identify, Develop, and Retain Leadership Talent

Grow Your Own Leaders: How to Identify, Develop, and Retain Leadership Talent

Grow Your Own Leaders: How to Identify, Develop, and Retain Leadership Talent

more information about Grow Your Own Leaders: How to Identify, Develop, and Retain Leadership Talent

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Book Description
Introduction Today, more and more organizations face a shortage of leaders at both the executive and general management levels. This shortage is driven by a variety of factors, including rapid growth, a dramatic rise in retirements, poaching of key people by competitors, and the difficulty of retaining talented people. And it's happening at a time when leadership is increasingly important to an organization's success. To contend with this reality, organizations essentially have three options: 1) intensify their efforts to hire hard-to-find, increasingly expensive people from outside their organization; 2) do nothing and likely experience a competitive decline, which could lead to being acquired or going out of business; or 3) tap into the quality people already in their organization, thus growing and keeping their own leaders. The third option is, of course, the most desirable. By finding effective ways to grow their own leaders, companies can make sure they have the executive talent they need in an increasingly competitive world. They can reduce the time and resources that they devote to attracting outside talent. And, they can improve their ability to retain their best and brightest employees. In today's opportunity-rich economy, talented leaders enjoy a myriad of alternatives. Research has shown that a primary reason people leave companies is lack of personal growth and job challenge opportunities (Axel, 1998; SHRM, 1997 as cited in AMA, 1997). By growing your own leaders, you give high-potential people the chance to pick up new skills and knowledge and take on new responsibilities. You give them clear opportunities to reach for bigger and better things, and in so doing you give them a solid reason to stay with your organization. The benefits of being able to grow your own leaders are clear. Nevertheless, many organizations try to do so by using traditional "climb the corporate ladder" approaches and replacement-planning programs--systems that are increasingly out of place in a fast-paced, ever-changing leadership environment. In this book we provide a more systematic and targeted method for identifying and developing high-potential individuals. We call this approach the Acceleration PoolSM. Compared to traditional approaches, it is: Faster and simpler , requiring less paperwork and management time (e.g., eliminating the yearly replacement-planning forms that have long plagued managers). More accurate in terms of getting the right person in the right job at the right time to meet organizational needs. More developmental , with improved diagnoses of development needs, a sharper focus on building skills and knowledge, and better support for change and growth. Fairer by providing greater integrity and transparency, minimizing "old boy network" influences, and creating more diversity by encompassing high-potential people wherever they are in the organization. More closely linked to business plans and strategy . The focus is on the development of leaders who can run the organization as it will be, not necessarily as it is now. More involving . Participants decide whether they want to join the Acceleration Pool, share in the responsibility for creating and executing their development plans, and are consulted relative to their assignments. More flexible because it can accommodate late bloomers, work-life conflict considerations, and people from outside the organization who are coming into middle- and senior-management positions. More contemporary in its approach to retaining top talent . It provides the job challenges that top talent crave as well as the appropriate support. Top talent feel they are growing in terms of skills and responsibilities. More tailored to specific organizational situations and needs . It is not a "one size fits all" approach. Traditional Replacement Planning To understand the value of Acceleration Pools, it helps to take a look back at the more traditional approach. For decades replacement planning has concentrated on preselecting backup people for key positions and then charting a series of job assignments to prepare them to fill the positions. One company called this approach "bus planning," as in "What would we do if Joe were hit by a bus?" It was not a bad system for the times. Back then: Organizations were stable, large, and hierarchical; there were few changes in job titles, job responsibilities, or organizational direction. Organizations employed many middle managers, most of whom had time for assignments outside their regular job duties. Technical and competitive changes occurred much more slowly. Human resource staffs were large, and control of personnel systems was more centralized. Succession planning was largely an HR-managed means of knowing who would replace departing leaders. Typical career path options within an organization were generally understood and rarely deviated from. People changed jobs and moved to new towns when asked to do so. In such an environment managers could tolerate not necessarily enjoy a forms-driven system that consumed days or even weeks of their time each year. One study in the 1980s found that line managers at Exxon spent as much as one-third of their time on succession-planning and human resource development activities (McManis and Leibman, 1988). Today it is impossible to conceive of devoting even a fraction of that much management time to replenishing managerial talent or other related HR activities. For business in the 21st century, the landscape is far different from the relatively stable times of two or three decades ago. In today's business world: Organizations are flatter, with horizontal career paths taking an increasing importance in addition to vertical paths. There are fewer middle managers--and those who remain have multiple demands that compete for the time required to develop themselves or coach and mentor their direct reports. Rapid change is occurring in all sectors--technology, competition, distribution, globalization, etc. There is greater decentralization of business units, resulting in fragmentation of HR initiatives. Top executives face myriad pressures that severely restrict the time they can spend on leadership development and succession management; yet, shareholders and board members show an increasing interest in the quality of the organization's executive talent. Quarterly pressure to meet Wall Street's expectations is enormous for some companies, often leading to short-term thinking relative to the development of leadership talent. Talented individuals expect unique attention that addresses their personal goals and aspirations, not just the promise of promotion if solid performance persists. What We Believe About Growing Leaders Grow Your Own Leaders describes a new system for managing leadership development and succession that we believe is essential in this rapidly changing and highly demanding world. We have used the following beliefs to shape the Acceleration Pool approach. Reasons for Succession Management Business strategy can be implemented only if appropriately skilled and experienced leadership is in place. Decisions about filling positions are more accurate when candidates are from inside the organization. Effective succession management systems operate as both talent-growth and talent-retention mechanisms; both are central to the system's success. Organizations don't have the time or resources to develop the leadership skills and organizational savvy of all their people. They must concentrate on those who will benefit most. Identification of Talent Organizations need to actively identify high-potential individuals. We do not subscribe to the "bubble-up" theory, which maintains that the best leaders inevitably move upward and gain the skills and experiences needed to meet the increasingly complex challenges of today's organizations. Organizations should cast a wide net in choosing people to be developed. Companies can't afford to miss good people, wherever they are. Although relatively young individuals will be the primary source for Acceleration Pools, leaders in later stages of their careers should also be eligible. Accurately selecting the talent to bring into the organization is critical. Everything depends on the developability of the organization's talent. Diagnosis of Development Needs Diagnosis of individual development needs is critical. A "one size fits all" development plan is a waste of money and fails to produce results. Diagnosis should cover experience and knowledge required at the executive level, executive competencies derived from organizational strategy, and executive derailers (personality attributes that can cause executives to fail). Meeting Development Needs Executives should both leverage their strengths and develop their weak areas. They can change behavior and develop new skills if they are motivated and provided with the required resources and support. High-potential individuals (high potentials) should be responsible for their own development. High potentials should be consulted regarding their job assignments and development plans. Leadership development is a continuous process--not a one-time event. Developmental assignments that stretch people, such as challenging job responsibilities and task force membership, have more impact than training experiences. High potentials should have development goals for each assignment or training activity and a plan for immediately implementing their new skills or knowledge in the workplace. Development initiatives should have a measurable impact on job objectives, not be an extra responsibility added to people's job objectives. Managing the Succession Management System Senior management should own the succession management system and be fully accountable for its success. As part of their involvement, senior managers should teach special programs for high potentials and show their support in other ways. Top managers should be given incentives to be active participants in the succession management process and to develop the leaders below them. The best way to grow y...

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"Acceleration pools: a new method of succession management.

Your organization's success is defined by one factor: the quality of your leaders. But developing great leaders has never been tougher. Now, drawing on experience with over 1,600 organizations, three renowned leadership consultants show exactly how to identify tomorrow's best leaders within your organization, accelerate their development and deployment, and maximize their value to your organization.

Comprehensive and practical, Grow Your Own Leaders covers every phase of executive development and succession, introducing high-impact, no-bureaucracy techniques that work. You'll discover how to align executive development with corporate strategy; how to take full advantage of short-term assignments, professional coaching, and other new approaches; and how to ensure accountability and measure results.

Yesterday's rigid, static executive succession programs have become a key obstacle to success. Grow Your Own Leaders introduces a flexible, high-speed approach designed for tomorrow's companies in tomorrow's marketplace-and shows you exactly how to implement it, from start to finish.

* The crisis of executive leadership¿and why conventional solutions don't work Effective leadership has never been more crucial-or in shorter supply * Best practices for identifying ""high potentials"" in your own organization Why you should focus internally¿and how to identify outstanding leaders who aren't ""bubbling to the top"" * ""Acceleration Pools"": bringing new flexibility to executive succession Breakthrough executive development techniques that reflect the realities of today's organizations * Delivering leaders fast, to meet tomorrow's challenges¿whatever they are When opportunity knocks, will you have leaders ready to take advantage of it? * From assessment to results: translating diagnosis into action Individualized executive development that delivers on the promise you've identified * 4 ways to turbocharge executive growth¿and minimize HR bureaucracy High-impact solutions that require fewer forms, and fewer meetings!

Turbocharge executive development in your organization!