Do you know how to develop leaders?

This assessment tool will identify strengths and deficits in your company’s leadership development capabilities.

Does Your Company Know How to Develop Leaders? Rate your company on a scale from 1 to 10 1.  Developing other executives is an important part of every leader’s job at my company. Leaders are   expected to devote considerable energy and a minimum of 20% of their quality time to this task.    Not at all true                                                              ===>                                                         Definitely true 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2.  Leaders who identify and develop other leaders are rewarded and recognized for doing so. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3.  Bosses regularly coach leaders on the one or two most important areas in which they need to improve, such as specific aspects of business acumen or relationship skills. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.  Evaluations, to be conducted at least once a year, consider not just what the leader achieved, but also how and under what circumstances. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.  Leaders pool their insights to determine how a junior leader may develop and where he/she should go next. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.  The most promising leaders often receive more challenging assignments that may be far outside their demonstrated area of expertise. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.  Leaders on development paths aren’t kept waiting for job openings. They receive challenging new assignments as soon as they’re ready for them, or even just before. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.  Assessments of leaders’ talents are precise, balanced and complete. They are separate from annual performance appraisals. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9.  The leadership development process is as consistent and rigorous as those for business items like revenues, margins or cash. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10              10.  HR ensures leaders at all levels actively develop other leaders and plan their succession. HR     provides useful input to help up-and-coming leaders and their bosses find the right job fit. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Spotting the Right Leadership DNA

Most companies have a faulty idea of what a leader really is and does. Executives focus on an incomplete list of personal traits, which hampers them when attempting to spot real leadership talent early on.

Young executives who are smart, creative and financially adept command attention and respect. They combine their mental abilities with a strong work ethic and drive to achieve. They often get promoted quickly, but they may actually lack the right leadership traits.

The best performers are usually the most visible, but they don’t necessarily have leadership essentials. Many executives confuse the two issues and identify the wrong people as high potential.

Many of the personality traits and capabilities associated with leadership in the past are insufficient today. You must identify other indications that a person can succeed in leading a business unit or whole company in an emerging business context.

As with DNA, two strands of a helix fuel business leaders’ inner engine:

1. People acumen: the ability to harness others’ energy
2. Business acumen: understanding how a business makes money

When future leaders are in their 20s, these strands are already in place.  Every company has leadership talent, but spotting it is critical to identifying leadership potential.