As someone who is passionate about leadership development, it is heartening to see articles like the one that ran recently in the Wall Street Journal, indicating, “Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders.”
The article highlights the enlightened perspective that some firms and executives have on developing talent during the current tough times. “Despite layoffs and recession-starved budgets, many employers are investing in leadership development programs, hoping not to be caught short when the economy improves.”
Good for these businesses and the leaders. The notion that it is always time to work on identifying and grooming leaders is healthy.
However, if you happen to work in one of the firms that is not as fortunate or as enlightened as the ones highlighted in the article, don’t despair.
You don’t have to have a stinking budget to improve your team’s/firm’s leadership development practices. You do however, have to have your head screwed on straight about this process, and you need to be committed to executing on it as a core, everyday part of your job.
In my workshop and engagement surveys, the number one reason that leaders don’t do a better job supporting professional development is…, you guessed it, “Time.” Fantastically and shockingly, people are willing to admit that they just don’t make time for this part of their job.
All of the training dollars and programs in the world will not make up for the lack of personal commitment about leadership development from you as a leader and from your peers and colleagues.
Leadership development doesn’t start with training, it doesn’t happen in training and it is not the means to the ends. It is context, not core. It offers many potential benefits, including motivation, reinforcement and support for skills development, but only experience gives someone the tools to truly lead.
Regardless of whether you have or don’t have a training budget, do these things and you will increase your batting average for building better leaders.
-Nine Tips for TurboCharging Leadership Development with No Budget:
1. Think about your leadership needs (skills, styles, competencies) in the context of the future, not the present.
2. Think hard about the attributes that you are looking for. Too often, we gravitate towards those that are outgoing and articulate. There are great leaders hidden behind those that seek the stage.
3. As a management group, talk a lot about your talent and their needs. Share insights and feedback on your collective pool of high potentials.
4. A high-potential one year may not make the cut the next year. Manage talent like a portfolio.
5. Share talent across functions to create well-rounded experiences for your high potentials. Make certain that the sharing involves feedback and performance evaluation from the rotational leaders.
6. Design opportunities for individuals; don’t just plunk people into problems. Be deliberate about tailoring opportunity development to the individual.
7. Coach and provide feedback constantly. And then double it.
8. Challenge the people you are developing to do seek out extraordinary ways to strengthen and to gain experience. I have no qualms encouraging a high potential to seek out other forms of leadership and experience by tapping into community needs. You can learn a lot about developing lateral influence skills by working in your community at a nonprofit or at your church.
9. Practice what you preach. Have you taken charge of your own professional development? What’s your plan?
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Don’t let the lack of a budget keep you from your appointed rounds as a developer of leaders. And if you are one of those hoping to be developed, don’t “boo hoo” your firm’s lack of commitment. You are responsible for you own career. Get on with it.
Thank you for the post and the link to the Wall Street article.
One of my favorite questions when I speak with CEO’s is; “what concerns you, what fills your thoughts on the drive home at night?”
In the top ten answers I frequently hear, the following are usually somewhere on the list;
•Talent to grow my business, today and in the future
•Not being aware of something that could have helped my business
•Voice of my market, data not opinions
Obviously there are many other comments I hear, but the above three keep coming into play.
As I have commented on your blog before companies need, must, be market driven. If they are not they are playing EBITDA Russian roulette. They are trying to sell things the market does not need and your overall value takes a nose dies.
So how do I know if my team members need training? Start with an assessment of your team. As you indicate in your post it takes all kinds of skills and training to have a market leading team. I like to use DISC and I plot the results of the profiles and their attitude and values on a team review wheel.
Get close to your market. What are the challenges you see and foresee in the future? Map those needs against the capabilities of your team. Any key gaps that need filled?
As the leader you have a choice, hire or train. My preference has always been train one of my own team members unless the capability needed was far outside of my team member’s distinctive competencies, at that time I bring in new talent.
If you choose training you will be faced with “time” and “budget.”
The majority of markets are slow now, so now is the ideal time for training.
If budget is your concern, I recommend you frame the cost of training another way; what is the financial impact of not training? For example when you study the success rate of new products and services, 2/3 fail within 18 months. Can your business afford a failure in these economic times? What is the cost of not succeeding with a new product? What is the cost of inventory of products that seem to be sitting on the shelf longer? What is the opportunity cost of having your team rally around selling something that flops because it does not solve a market problem of today?
A quick test I like to use to see if an executive team needs training is a simple exercise. In your next meeting, count how often your leaders say “I think we should…” verse leading with recent market data. The leader who says “I think we should ….” frequently, needs training. The leader who says based on my interviews with customers and our recent survey we should….” Probably does not.