A great leader is someone who can serve both the short and long-term requirements of an organization. They have a short-term vision for the team and a long-term vision for the team members. I remember when one of my CIO took an opportunity outside the organization, she ensured that she spoke with her direct reports and ensured that the top talent had a good runway in place to grow in their career and during the transition phase ensured that the new CIO and the new portfolio owners know how important these top talents are to our organization.
One of the most important goals for a leader is to start thinking long-term and cultivating future leaders. Below is a 4 step process by Todd Dewett, to do this.
Step 1: Identify top talent
- This could be data-driven or a candid conversation among leaders to identify the right resource. This is different among organizations.
- Ask who the most capable people are among the new or older employees.
- The focus should be on leadership skills and not technical skills.
- Effective leader is someone who is a
- Good communicator
- Motivator
- Makes good decisions
- Can Handle conflict
Step 2: Collaborate and plan with future leaders
- Discuss with them their developmental plans. – Are they liking what they are doing right now ? Is there something else that motivates them etc…
- If they are really good, then they don’t need to be dictated too much.
- Establish a dialogue to hear them out and discuss their interests. In my case , I would have regular 1 X 1 to understand them better.
Step 3: Actual activities used to grow their leadership skills
- Diversification – challenge them with different projects / programs
- Expanding the breadth of their functional and technical skills
- Level of responsibility – Add additional responsiblity and allow them to prove themselves
- Accelerate their level of authority – You can start appreciating when they take ownership and communicate to everyone about their authority.
- The above tasks will stretch the employees/leaders to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Step 4: Prioritize retention of future leaders
- As leaders , we should know that the more talented someone is the more options they have in the market.
- This means that you have to recognize and reward the young leaders in order that makes them feel genuinely valued.
- Apart from competitive Salary hikes and bonuses, it also includes public recognition of achievements and inclusion in decision making with higher level managers.
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