12 steps to leadership success
Diane Landers, Ph.D.
Learning, leadership, and loyalty become deep-rooted when
employee growth is nurtured through a leadership development program,
particularly one that is supported and sponsored throughout the firm.
This article illustrates corporate experience and
execution of a 12-step approach to becoming an effective and sustainable
"learning organization." In today's turbulent economy, a genuine
investment in the excellence of an organization's people can generate a
competitive advantage for the future of the firm.
This 12-step
approach reflects the words of John C. Maxwell, a noted expert on leadership:
"The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on
leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an
organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and
continually develops them."
1) Overcome resistance to change – The transformation to
establishing staff development as a high priority at the heart of an
organizational culture relies on interaction, tenacity, and enthusiastic
executive-level champions who can enlist support and commitment at all levels.
Establishing a top-level Executive Leadership Council, for example, can
encourage serious buy-in for training programs because members must be actively
involved in selecting candidates for a training course and are the first to
appreciate the benefits of a better trained staff.
2) Financial allocation – Human resources (or a separate
corporate budget) should be responsible for your corporate training programs,
not line management, who have other project priorities that may limit the
effectiveness of your program. Your training budget should include all
expenditures – labor, travel, trainers, consultants, educational materials,
incidentals, etc. When negotiating with your CEO/CFO, a little skill and
finesse can be persuasive; due diligence is required. For instance, demonstrate
how your leadership development funds will better serve corporate commitment to
future growth than decentralized expenditures on piecemeal training that is not
aligned with corporate core values.
3) Jump-start your program – Leadership articles and
online modules by high-caliber learning systems such as Harvard Business
Publishing, Development Dimensions International, and Dale Carnegie can be
researched and selectively purchased for group sessions in leadership and
management. A successful program providing an attitude of elitism among the
staff can garner executive agreement to continue your leadership program
throughout the organization, and expand financial support.
"The single biggest way to impact an organization is to
focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of
an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and
continually develops them."
4) Engage top management – Actively engage executives and
senior managers by inviting them to participate or provide opening remarks at
kick-off sessions of leadership management courses. Their emphasis on the
relationship of coursework to corporate investment in the future of the
employees and the company will encourage participation and dedication. Some
managers and executives are especially adept and enthusiastic about assisting
with teaching activities, further reinforcing leadership training as a
corporate culture and creating a demand for enrollment.
5) Initiate a demand for training – Persuade your
executive staff to buy into the practice of looking at the leadership
"graduates" for promotions before going to the outside to fill key
positions. Although employees must be nominated by line managers to attend a
program, the Executive Leadership Council (see Step 1) makes all selections for
leadership development programs. When employees understand the selection
process, they are more eager to apply and honored to be selected. Selection can
be based on business need and employee applications. Often, skilled and
creative applicants help identify future leaders at an early stage of their
career development.
6) Acknowledge graduates – Make sure graduates receive
exposure and recognition. Send a company-wide announcement with their photos,
celebrating them as the crème de la crème for future leadership positions with
special plaques, dinner parties, and professional group photos for publication
and office display. Provide a special gift and a certificate to signify their
career achievement. Kudos and rewards should vary with each completed class.
7) Generate a feeling of community – Invite honorees and
their spouses, along with company executives, officers, and senior managers, to
a special dinner and activity. Whatever the occasion, the cohort of new leaders
have the opportunity for face-to-face interactions with top corporate leaders
to build corporate trust and establish relationships and partnerships that last
for years.
8) Endorse career advancement – Be an advocate for
leadership development graduates during the merit increase process. Each
participant's progress should be tracked by human resources, and their managers
should be notified of leadership participation when the time comes for merit
raises and promotions.
9) The "First Class" rule – Without exception,
everything you do surrounding the training must be first class, down to the
smallest detail. This includes your delivery down to the tablecloths, pitchers
of water, prizes, catered hot lunches, dinners, and entertainment,
professionally designed and framed certificates, assignment of professional
development hours, the graduation process, and the handshake.
10) Engage and motivate – Strive for positive internal
evaluations with training that is both engaging and fun. Consider these
activities as complements to your lectures: hold team and individual
competitions; produce educational videos and discuss; conduct mock real-life
scenarios – role-play. Keep students moving and active, engaged, and motivated.
Practice each training session with a small pilot group of marketing and human
resources staff in advance so that execution is exceptional. Obtain feedback
from the class for continuous improvement.
11) Deliver consistently – Establish an annual training
plan, without exception, and stick to it, for a consistent, first-class
delivery. It is difficult to conceptualize the countless number of preparation
hours required. Start weeks before the scheduled trainings to confirm that you
are organized and have all the props ready to go. Annual follow-through and
delivery generates an immense sense of accomplishment and commitment.
12) Link
succession planning to leadership development – Establish an annual
succession planning process for identifying, in advance, the "heir to the
throne" for key positions. Identify future leaders early, understand their
strengths and weaknesses, prepare and develop them to assume the leadership
roles of the future. Make leadership development programs part of your
organizational culture. The return on investment is invaluable.
For more about the soft skills certification please visit us on: www.ibta-arabia.com
Diane Landers,
Ph.D., vice president and chief marketing officer, GAI
Consultants, applied her passion for leadership and experience as a former
university professor to spearhead a board-level initiative to develop the first
corporate-wide Leadership Program for the firm. Landers teamed with David
Mollish, chief human resources officer, who has developed and administered
leadership programs for Fortune 500 firms. In less than a year, they launched
the Leadership Development Program for GAI Consultants (www.gaiconsultants.com), a
national engineering and environmental consulting firm. Contact Landers or
Mollish at 412-476-2000. Special thanks to Lynda Shirley and Allison O'Konski
for assistance preparing this article.
