Nurturing Leadership
EVER wondered why the greatest teams seem to have the best captains? It is because, in a great team, every player is a leader in his own right. Great organisations, like great teams, foster leadership qualities in every employee, regardless of his or her position in the hierarchy. Sustained growth, flexibility, responsiveness and continued development of an organisation in an environment of rapid change can prove to be an unworkable option, unless companies gear up to fostering and growing leaders on a continuous basis from within the organisation. According to one report, almost 40% of leaders in new roles fail to meet expectations, primarily due to the absence of effective coaching and mentoring. While it is true to an extent that leadership is an inherent quality, an organisation that develops and nurtures leadership potential will definitely find it less of a burden to come up with competent leadership, management and technical capacity to deliver organisational and customer expectations.
Let us take a look at some of the different aspects of an organisation's build-up that influences leadership potential from within.
Organisational Culture
Research indicates that even during economic crisis, companies with change-adept and flexible cultures have greater ability to adjust and survive when compared to companies with poorly defined, inflexible work culture. The right kind of corporate equation is an optimal combination of people and culture, and culture can promote or sabotage leadership potential within the organisation. It can make the difference between remarkable success and utter failure. An open and forward thinking culture is change-adept and has an incredible ability to evolve and progress with changing times. It fosters learning and knowledge sharing, to do things in a better way in an environment of co-operation and team play. The thrust should not be on a paradigm of competition but that of co-operation, with emphasis on merit and equity.
Role Models
Having role models to follow and look up to within the organisation can be a very influencing factor. When we come across people who have the attitude, skill or personality that we ourselves would like to possess, we often unconsciously try to model ourselves after them. When such role models exist within the organisation, people often try to emulate them. Having a role model to guide, and look up to, can definitely help budding leaders shave years off their learning curve and gain skills rapidly.
Mentoring
Absence of adequate coaching and mentoring is perhaps the major reason for the inability of companies to find competent leadership capacity in times of crisis. High-impact, individualised executive coaching/ mentoring programmes for the personal development of future leaders are perhaps the best bet. Existing leaders should take it upon themselves to observe, assess and aid the growth of employees with the talent and the ability to make it big.
Training
Training can help develop and hone existing potential, leadership or otherwise. A well-managed training programme can make the difference between `attending' and `learning' from a participant's perspective. The training process hence, should be a strategic, systematic and deliberate activity aimed at ensuring an organisation's future capability to fill vacancies, without patronage or favouritism within the framework of the merit and ability.
Job Enrichment
The gains of job enrichment on employee growth and development are significant. Job enrichment enables the job in itself to become the prime vehicle of all- round individual development and giving them the confidence to deal with situations and cope with demands outside their job.
Succession Planning
Through strategic succession planning and by partnering with key employees in their career planning, organisations can prepare themselves for unforeseen change while holding on to their most important people. A succession plan should specifically focus on ensuring the availability and sustainability of a supply of capable staff that is ready to assume key or critical roles. All the other aspects can be incorporated into the organisation's succession planning strategy to ensure that the right people are in the right place at the right time to achieve successful business outcomes.
Like workforce planning, nurturing leadership potential involves planning for change, flexibility and future. It involves grooming employees for the kind of roles that are likely to emerge, rather than focusing solely on filling up current requirements.
BINDU SRIDHAR
faqs@cnkonline.com
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Opportunities
