Building Leaders
101
A (very) quick
introduction to leadership
development in firms
Dan Mitchell
Nov 26, 2014
Agenda
1.The Organizational Context
2.Have a Perspective
3.Talent Management
4.Developing Leaders
5.Issues
6.Summary
The Organizational
Context
Start from where you
are.
What is the content of
the contract?
Be clear on what you’re ready to give in exchange
for what they will get.
Start from where you
are.
Figure out what you
want.
Figure out what you
want.
Figure out what you
want.
Source: PSI University (www.psi.org)
Figure out what you
want.
With competency models, be careful what you
wish for.
Figure out what you
want.
Source: PSI University (www.psi.org)
Integrated into:
•360s?
•Performance Reviews?
•Leadership Training?
•Coaching?
•Engagement Survey?
•Selection?
•Annual bonus?
•Long-term incentives?
Would you rather have 90%
application of a 60% model, or
60% application of a 90% model?
(Boiling the Ocean)
Figure out what you
want.
It’s less about the KPI
and more about the
behavior it drives.
But be aggressive about
addressing conflicting
priorities.
Figure out what you
want.
1.What’s the culture you want?
2.What are the top two or three KPIs for
which leaders must be accountable?
3.What leadership behaviors will drive those
metrics, and that culture?
Surprisingly, these questions often go unexplored.
Have a Perspective.
What’s your model?
Be deliberate about what “Leadership” means
in your organization.
Remember: leadership
is the brand.
Talent Management.
Leadership
development doesn’t
stand on its own.
Source: Bersin by Deloitte (www.bersin.com)
Development without
assessment is waste.
Having the perfect model is less important
than applying a reliable and valid model
consistently.
Talent reviews &
succession.
Source: www.onlyonceblog.com
That being said...
Accept that your
visibility is limited.
Source: www.onlyonceblog.com
Allow for the possibility of self-selection.
And consider your
investment model.
Source: www.onlyonceblog.com
Don’t pander, but don’t ignore.
Agree on the balance.
Developing Leaders.
Find your leaders, and
challenge them.
Beware the curse of “perfect readiness”.
Time
Progression
Development in quantum leaps of
scale, scope, and complexity at high
speed.
Conventional practice:
Development in incremental
steps over extended time.
Source: Ram Charan:“Leaders at all Levels” (c) 2008
Find your leaders, and
challenge them.
At the higher levels the pool should become
much smaller.
Work hard at
building a
culture of
open
feedback.
“All learning is feedback.”
Peter Senge
Establish development
relationships.
Provide formal
coaching.
Focus on the jobs
people do.
Don’t make it all about
the workshops (and the
facilitator).
That said...
But only if the learning really matters.
Tony Robbins
Again, that said...
Leadership development isn’t just for the troops.
Change as you go
(because you’ll make
some mistakes).
Issues.
Money.
It helps, but you can still develop great leaders on
a budget.
Don’t neglect to
consider culture.
If you can’t get senior
leaders involved, that’s a
problem.
Individuals need to take
ownership.
This isn’t an HR process
(but it’ll certainly keep
HR busy).
Summary.
Start from where you are and
figure out what you want.
(Running workshops won’t compensate for lack of a clear vision of what success looks like.)
Have the culture, behavior,
and KPIs discussion.
(See your endgame and assess the gap)
When it comes to
competencies, less is more.
(Keep it simple; Focus on the “must haves”; Use them where it counts)
Have a perspective on
leadership.
(Vendors are in it for the $$; Philosophies actually matter;Your leadership is your brand)
Review and differentiate
your talent.
Commit to their
development.
Track the results.
(Wash - Rinse - Repeat)
Find future leaders and
challenge them.
(Diamonds are the result of time and pressure,
but don’t think you’ll always know where to find them.)
Build leadership capacity and
capability top to bottom...
(Leadership development isn’t only for the young’uns.)
but don’t paint with too
broad a brush.
(One size does not fit all.)
The only way to lose this
game is to refuse to play.
(Software updates never end, so why should developing leaders be different?)
Be a business partner -
ensure accountability sits
where it should.
(Give a man a fish...you know the story.)
We have one of the best jobs
in the world.
(So go have fun for Pete’s sake!)

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