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Fast
Track Leadership Development/Succession Planning, Part I
Research
indicates that 70% of the companies surveyed have a moderate
to severe leadership shortage and 53% reported a shortage
of line managers.* The US is going to have a shortage of 30
Million leaders over the next five years.** Now is a good
time to fast track your plan for securing, leveraging and
retaining top managers and leaders. There is no time to reinvent
wheels. Build your business case on research which reveals
that best companies for leaders has a five-year shareholder
return average of 4.07% as compared to .54% for companies
who were not in the top 20 for strong leaders**
The
first step is to convene a talent
steering committee to align business and leadership
talent needs for the next 1-2 and 3-5 years. It is imperative
that the CEO or business owner
is a group member. Other committee members should be business
unit leaders and leaders in staffing, learning and development,
organizational development, and a union representative if
you have a union environment. Outline a leadership development
project plan which includes incentives, a budget, and program
evaluation. You may want to pilot your plan in one unit. Use
computerized talent management software if possible.
Second,
project your business needs and classify
the business units as startup, turnaround, realignment
or sustain success.*** Determine critical
positions required for a competitive advantage
and the functional and leadership competencies you need now
and in the future. Leadership competencies are defined as
measurable skills, traits, and characteristics that are subject
to modification or change. Competencies are critical for job
descriptions, hiring and promotion decisions, training and
development, and performance management. Start with 6-8 overall
competencies and 18-20 leadership skills.****
The
third action is to make a list
of top performing leaders in each business unit and assess
their cognitive abilities, behavioral traits and occupational
interests. From this assessment data, you will have the profiles
of your top performers by business unit and can
then establish a job pattern
for each critical position. Profiles International's PXT is
one example of a total person assessment that is a valid and
reliable tool to give you this data. The PXT provides an individual's
learning index which is an important
measurement as the pace and changing nature of business in
most cases, requires a high learning score.
Fourth, ask business unit leaders
to identify mentors, coaches, and high potential
employees in their units that should be considered
for leadership development. These high potentials should be
meeting or exceeding performance expectations in their current
positions. Also, have the business unit leaders identify leaders
expected to retire in the next five years including their
anticipated retirement dates.
Fifth,
give all employees a career survey
to determine career interests, learning needs and desire for
leadership positions. Use the data from the career survey
and the manager high potential survey
to create a talent pool for leadership development and succession
planning. Give the learning needs data to the learning and
development department.
Our
next newsletter will continue with the identification of leadership
competencies and actions to further jump start and sustain
your leadership development and succession planning program.
* www.bersin.com.
** Leadership Development Best Practices, Interview with Rick
Lash, HR.com, April 2007.
*** Watkins, M. (2003). The First 90 Days, Critical Success
Strategies for New Leaders at all Levels, Boston: Harvard
Business School Press.
**** Reality HR: Taking a Comprehensive Approach to Developing
Managers and Future Leaders: Interview with Anne McIntosh,
HSBC, Hr.com, November 2005.
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