Part one (click here to view) discussed the survival and success required for effective leaders at all levels. But, how do we build leaders with the necessary inherent qualities and capabilities when there is very little evidence for leadership development programmes delivering lasting, measurable impact?
“Leaders of every sort are in disrepute; we don’t have much better an idea of how to grow good leaders, or of how to stop or at least slow bad leaders, than we did a hundred or even a thousand years ago … the leadership industry has not in any major, meaningful, measurable way improved the human condition.” Professor Barbara Kellerman, Harvard University
In my experience, the majority of effort and investment is in leaders at the top of the pyramid … and for good reason. A variety of studies shows that leaders can have up to a 70% impact on culture and culture over 28% impact on performance. Leaders are a significant factor in engaging people, who in turn can have up to three times the impact on the performance of an organisation if highly engaged (Corporate Leadership Council, Deloitte, Aon-Hewitt, Watson Wyatt, Towers Perrin, Gallup).
Is it not, however, too late to develop some of the inherent qualities required of leaders if we start when beliefs, characteristics and worldviews are already deeply entrenched?
In a similar way that sports organising bodies build an internationally competitive winning sports team with bench-depth across seasons and years, we need to identify and develop leadership talent early and continue this development throughout the levels of leadership. Whilst graduate programmes are increasing in size, popularity and investment, an oft over-looked group of leaders are the non-qualified young employees and the junior to middle managers where a few may be selected annually to attend leadership programmes whilst the majority manage with their wits repeating what they may have learnt from mentors (if they were lucky), role models (many not so desirable) or trial and error.
We need a renewed and reinvented approach to accelerated learning at all levels in organisations that encourages everyone to be continuous life-long learners with growth-mindsets and a contribution ethos. If we build learning organisations that encourage, facilitate and reward this as part of their DNA, people’s natural inherent talent and potential will be unleashed and enhanced. There is much to be explored in how to build innovative learning organisations. Some key principles from a variety of studies and personal experience which will be explored in my next article include:
Fifteen design principles for future fit leadership development:
1. Involve today’s and tomorrow’s leaders in the design process, as well as key stakeholders;
2. Focus on developing leadership, not just leaders, which includes breaking down silos and individualised measurement systems;
3. Focus on the interplay between leaders, followers and the collective purpose that leaders can only achieve through collaboration;
4. Think of leadership as a life-long, self-driven journey, not a series of events;
5. Learning journeys need to be personalised, co-created, regularly reviewed and adapted to provide new stretch opportunities;
6. Build in learning how to learn and personal mastery as a foundation skill and constant filter to all learning journeys;
7. Learning is fuelled by real-life challenges (based on the work of the organisation) that shake our assumptions and stretch our capacities and develop capabilities in new areas;
8. Real learning requires a blend of ‘immersive experiences’, collective activity, periods of retreat and reflection, and new habits and routines that can be built into daily practice;
9. Create experiences that challenge comfort zones, worldviews and unconscious biases – learning to think and relate in new ways and reinventing self through new neural pathways and daily habits;
10. Incorporate critical career experiences that can accelerate insight, experience and learning combined with regular reflection and manager and peer feedback and coaching;
11. Develop an improvisational exploratory mindset that can be cultivated through embracing other ways of knowing beyond the rational mind, that is, EQ, SQ, intuition, somatic awareness, presencing and being in flow;
12. Apply lean agile design processes to co-create new forms of leadership development;
13. Encourage leaders to develop leaders at all levels and enable a culture of failing forward and fast learning requiring a certain risk tolerance and coaching capability to facilitate learning (vs sense of failure) through tough experiences;
14. Open up access to learning opportunities for select groups to broader talent segments (economies of scale) and the community, that is, family members, underprivileged individuals, or
15. Ensure commitment to personal learning and measurable leadership and business results with accountability.
“During this time of exponential change you must evolve your company – you are either disrupting yourself or someone else is – sitting still equals death.”
Peter Diamandis, Singularity University
Debbie Craig is the Founder and MD of Catalyst Consulting. Follow Debbie on twitter: @catalystsa.
This article appeared in the December 2017 issue of HR Future magazine.