Leadership Development

Some great leaders are simply born that way, but most have innate abilities that first, have to be identified and then second, cultivated. Leadership is different from management and often requires different skills and talents. However, many organizations assume that good manager can naturally evolve into a leadership role by simply assuming increasing leadership responsibilities. In smaller organizations this can be especially troublesome as the line between management and leadership roles are often blurry. Unfortunately, most organizations often underinvest in leadership issues such as succession planning and executive professional development. As a result leaders are ill prepared to assume their roles and end up getting mired in tactical management issues rather than forging the requisite leadership agenda for the organization.

Assessment Questions: How is the CEO/President/Executive Director role defined in the organization? How is the organization structured in terms of senior team responsibilities? Is there a leadership team or reliance on only a few individuals? What are the characteristics the organization is looking for in its leaders? Has the leadership team communicated a clear and consistent vision/mission/direction for staff including defining both short and long term success? How does the organization hold its leaders accountable for being effective in their role(s)? What is the relationship between the board and the leadership team? Is leadership behavior consistent with its rhetoric? How does our current leadership team stack up against the needs of the organization? What is the plan to bridge any potential leadership gaps? How does the organization approach professional development at the leadership level? Does our leadership team work collaboratively or is there a silo mentality? Is there constructive conflict and trust at the leadership level? What are the future leadership needs? Who are the future leaders that exist within the organization and how can it best plan for their growth and development?

Intervention: A leadership development strategy document that assesses the existing leadership needs of the organization including bridging any existing gaps, supporting the needs of existing leaders and cultivating the talents of future leaders. Moreover, the plan will need to develop clear leadership performance measures (including board measures) and institute a 360-degree feedback mechanism to gauge progress against these expectations. There are multiple resources that inform our thinking on this topic, but Pat Lencioni, Jack Welch and Jim Collins are significant influences.

Miscellaneous: Starting with the chief executive, the leadership team needs to be ready for this type of self-examination and potentially moving out of their comfort zone to step up their performance.

Approach: 

• Review strategic planning documents and board minutes over 3 year period and reconcile this with actual performance outcomes 
• Review minutes of senior team meetings over 3 year period 
• Conduct 1:1 interviews with leadership team and key board member 
• Administer 360 degree survey tool where staff evaluates leadership performance both collectively and individually 
• Facilitate dialogue with leadership team on leadership issues including strengths and weaknesses of existing team (1) If warranted, conduct team evaluation survey with senior team members 
• Review and assess existing professional development program including opportunities leveraged by senior leadership team over past three years 
• Review and assess promotions and hiring of management and leadership staff over past three years including reconciling these decisions against performance evaluations 
• Create leadership development plan with clear long and short term objectives to enhance leadership environment