Accelerate Leadership Development

As we have established throughout this book, a lack of preparation of next-generation leaders as the Boomers exit is one of the top concerns in the shifting demographics. Bottom line: Gen Xers, as a group, are not prepared to take the helm and Gen Y is too young. So, with a Boomer swinging wide the retirement door at a rate of one every 8 seconds, we have to reduce the amount of time it takes to get the next-generation leaders competent and capable of leading today’s very complex organizations. In fact, Gen X leaders will need skills that Boomers never needed due to the incredible impact of technology and globalization. There are many ways to do this. Let’s talk about a few:

•   Informal mentoring. This is a process where mentoring in general is promoted throughout the organization and every person is encouraged to mentor others to pass on important knowledge and skills. Leaders are allowed to choose and make requests. There may even be some effort to provide a desired process for choosing an informal mentor. However, the how, what, and when of the mentoring is left up to the mentor and the mentee. Creating a mentoring culture is a winning scenario and can be done over lunch and just during the process of day-today work so that little to no investment is required.

•   Formal mentoring programs. While some investment is required for formal mentoring programs in the form of time and facilitated learning, they can be incredibly beneficial to both mentors and mentees. We often hear mentors say that they get as much out of it as the mentee because they learn about things deep in the organization that they may not otherwise encounter. These programs are designed specifically to meet the goals of the organization. Mentors may be required for high-potential talent pool members, and certain leaders such as VP and above may be required to have at least one mentee. There is often a class to teach the mentors and mentees how to use the relationship effectively, and protocol is established for the number of meetings and the timeframe for the mentoring. There may be some specific goals outlined during the process that are provided back to the mentee’s manager as well.

•   Leaders as teachers. A leaders-as-teachers program is another way to transfer both tacit and explicit knowledge while developing the leadership pipeline and giving emerging leaders access to senior leaders. It has a triple bottom line. The phrase leaders as teachers was made popular by Ed Betof in his leadership role at Becton Dickenson where he designed and led the BD University. Here is how it came about:

As part of our blueprint for the future, we concluded that in order to achieve our growth goals and strategies, another key part of the puzzle had to be solved. We’d have to become both a learning and a teaching organization. Shortly after I was asked to lead the effort that subsequently would become BD University, I made the recommendation that our primary delivery strategy for live, face-to-face learning be that of BD leaders and associates teaching other leaders and associates.⁶

Leaders as teachers can be designed in many ways from leaders kicking off programs or offering fireside chats during programs to leaders teaching the entire program. There is no one specific formula that will work for every organization.

•   External education. Organizations offer external education for many reasons. Some organizations offer full tuition reimbursement toward an advanced degree as long as the degree pertains to the employee’s work. These are typically tied to a contract that the employee will stay with the organization for a designated period of time in exchange for the investment. Other organizations will reimburse specific external classes or even require external development for specific populations. For example, many organizations require their senior high-potential leaders to attend external executive education programs such as Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth, Penn State Smeal College of Business, Wharton Executive Education at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Business School Executive Education, or the many other fine establishments for such education. Even if the organization isn’t paying, individuals can attend on their own as long as the organization will give them the time. These programs are designed to create measurable improvements in the individual’s knowledge and performance and ultimately impact business outcomes. Top university programs typically offer a range of programs that will enhance the skills of the leader, everything from finance to global expansion.

•   Internal executive education and leadership development programs. These programs differ from internal executive education in that they are designed specifically to help organizations successfully address their marketplace challenges and accelerate the execution of their business strategy by developing the organization’s executives and high potentials in specifically identified areas such as strategy, leadership, diversity, performance management, culture change, fast growth, etc. These may be a one-to two-week annual initiative for the executives and high potentials, an ongoing corporate university, or specific half-day to two-day workshops. The possibilities are many for this type of learning. They are generally instructor-or leader-led and in person and often include external experts as appropriate.

•   Executive coaching. Executive coaching is a one-on-one growth and development opportunity and produces real business results in a short period of time. We like coaching because it is typically customized to meet the individual’s unique development needs and provides feedback that the leader may not have access to otherwise. When done well, coaching is strategically linked to the organization’s vision and business strategies and includes interviews and review sessions with the individual’s manager to ensure accountability to the organization’s vision and organizational strategy. The role of the coach is to help the individual maximize performance, make a shift to the next level of leadership, or overcome potential derailers.

•   Action learning. This is a process for working on real, current, and important business problems or opportunities, in diverse teams, to both develop the participants and improve the business. These are often used in executive development or high-potential development as they not only stretch the participants to develop new skills but they are typically required to present results and business plans back to senior leadership. Therefore, they gain exposure and access to leaders that they may otherwise rarely encounter. Action learning programs are often facilitated by external professionals or trained internal learning and development professionals, take up between 10 and 25 percent of the leader’s time, and span over three to six months.

•   Business simulations. A great way to both test current capabilities and accelerate the development of high potential leaders and executives, business simulations are experiential solutions. In definition, a simulation is “an online re-creation of a real business environment for the purposes of learning.” In a simulation, the user is usually asked to play a role and makes decisions in the simulation based on that role. The decisions that the user makes determine the outcome of the simulation storyline; multiple outcomes are possible. The simulation storyline is based on real-world business dynamics, and the outcomes of decisions are based on analysis and research of real companies.”⁷ Simulations can be scenario simulations, board simulations, engage maps, online connected solutions, or our favorite, custom business simulations. An organization that is known around the world for its world-class simulations is BTS Inc. with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and multiple U.S.-based offices as well. What we like about custom business simulations is that they are based on the company, as it is today or with future scenarios. The simulation can be integrated with other learning and development efforts. Participants are forced to make decisions that are risky without risk to the company while they are learning. They work in teams, and the simulation can be used over and over again.

Both action learning and business simulations are great for all the generations, but they are particularly effective at developing Gen Y as they offer Gen Y’s perfect learning environment—small groups, operating as a team, and project based. Of course, Gen Y won’t like the pressure cooker, but who does?

All of these learning and development opportunities are key both to the individuals and to the organizations who must accelerate the leader development. In many circumstances, senior leaders are engaged and are able to learn emerging leaders’ capabilities and how they operate under pressure before they are in an actual engagement that could cost the organization millions of dollars if ineffective.

Notes

1.   Lesser, Eric, and Ray Rivera. “Closing the Generational Divide.” IBM Global Business Services: Human Capital Managment. In Association with ASTD, July 2006. Web. https://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/ gbs/bus/pdf/g510-6323-00_generational_divide.pdf.

2.   Lieber, Lynn. “How to Manage the Four Generations in Today’s Workplace.” Workplace Answers: Employment Relations Today: Questions—and Answers Column. 27 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 July 2010. http://www.workplaceanswers.com/News/Changing-Demographics-Will-Require-Changing-the-Wa301.aspx.

3.   Hagemann, Bonnie, and Judy Chartrand, Ph.D. “The 2009/2010 Trends in Executive Development: A Benchmark Report.” http://leadershipdevelopmenttrends.com/. Web. 24 July 2010. http://leadershipdevelopmenttrends.com.

4.   Teoh Kheng Yau, Joanne, and Suliman Al-Hawamdeh. “The Impact of the Internet on Teaching and Practicing Journalism.” DLPS List of All Collections. JEP the Journal of Electronic Publishing, Aug. 2001. Web. 01 Aug. 2010. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=jep;view=text;rgn=main;idno=3336451.0007.102.

5.   McAfee, Andrew. Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges. Boston: Harvard Business, 2009. Print.

6.   Betoff, Edward. “Leaders as Teachers—ASTD Press— ASTD.” ASTD—Training and Development. Mar. 2004. Web. 24 July 2010. p. 57. http://www.astd.org/content/publications/ ASTDPress/LeadersasTeachers.htm.

7.   “Simulation: What Makes It so Effective?” BTS. Web. 24 July 2010. p. 2. http://www.bts.com/business_simulations.aspx.