Developing your future leaders
By Christina Madrid
Are you losing sleep over your staffing decisions? Today's business environment is competitive, and placing the right person in the right position is a major concern for business owners. And this is not a dilemma that is handled once and for all–worries about the best job fit only increase as positions are filled and the business continues to grow.
Business owners are not only consumed with building their business and attracting and retaining talent. They also struggle with the creation of systems that will support sustained business growth. Growth demands leaders who can oversee the day-to-day efficiency and effectiveness of their teams. A good leader ensures that the employees are both doing the right things and "doing things right."
In order to develop qualified future leaders, business owners must embrace three key concepts:
Know and embody your company's vision and core values
Hire only the very best and promote from within
Establish a specific methodology for continuously and consistently developing your future leaders
Know and Embody Your Company's Vision and Core Values
What does your company stand for? Is your vision clear to you, and has it been adequately conveyed to your employees? Do you know and practice the core values your company represents? A vision statement, in itself, will not motivate your employees. They need specific goals and an action plan to follow to attain those goals. Even the most creative vision will remain an esoteric fairy tale without a strategy for its fulfillment.
Hire Only the Very Best and Promote from Within
Using your vision and values as your foundation, your hiring processes should be designed to support your efforts to hire the best. Once your vision is translated into specific goals and actions, the types of individuals your company hires will play a major role in determining your company's success. Once you have hired the talent you need to execute your vision, take whatever steps are necessary to develop and retain those individuals. They are your future. Promote from within!
Establish a Specific Methodology for Continuously and Consistently Developing Your Future Leaders
Regardless of the current size of your organization, devote time and energy now to plan for your next generation of leadership. Don't expect your best contributors and highest producers to be magically transformed into successful managers when they receive their new titles. Remember, just because your best employees are technically competent does not mean that they possess the skills of an effective leader. A certain level of insecurity sets in when a highly successful technical contributor becomes a first-time manager.
As individual contributors, your best performers are at the top of their technical game. They have gained the acceptance of their peers and have been recognized even further when promoted. Such individuals are validated as valued employees and trusted colleagues.
When these individual contributors are promoted, they are suddenly wrenched from this fairly high level of gratification. Rather than being part of the team, they are now responsible for the team. Such a change will affect how well they perform as first-time managers. New responsibilities may make your new managers feel insecure and isolated, threatening their ability to adjust. Essentially, your once highly valued and secure employees must reestablish their places in the organization although at a much higher level.
The long-range success of your business depends on how quickly your newly-promoted managers can assimilate into their new roles. Will you leave this assimilation to chance?
Ideally, a specific course of leadership training should be provided before employees are thrust into the management arena. At a minimum, they must have some informal opportunities to develop the new skills they will need to meet the exciting challenge of a new career opportunity. Your continuing business success depends on it!
Christina Madrid, SPHR, a business coach and human resources consultant, is the owner of Breakthrough HR. Her company provides coaching, consulting and training, ranging from organization design to human resources consulting, to small and mid-sized businesses.
By Christina Madrid
Are you losing sleep over your staffing decisions? Today's business environment is competitive, and placing the right person in the right position is a major concern for business owners. And this is not a dilemma that is handled once and for all–worries about the best job fit only increase as positions are filled and the business continues to grow.
Business owners are not only consumed with building their business and attracting and retaining talent. They also struggle with the creation of systems that will support sustained business growth. Growth demands leaders who can oversee the day-to-day efficiency and effectiveness of their teams. A good leader ensures that the employees are both doing the right things and "doing things right."
In order to develop qualified future leaders, business owners must embrace three key concepts:
Know and embody your company's vision and core values
Hire only the very best and promote from within
Establish a specific methodology for continuously and consistently developing your future leaders
Know and Embody Your Company's Vision and Core Values
What does your company stand for? Is your vision clear to you, and has it been adequately conveyed to your employees? Do you know and practice the core values your company represents? A vision statement, in itself, will not motivate your employees. They need specific goals and an action plan to follow to attain those goals. Even the most creative vision will remain an esoteric fairy tale without a strategy for its fulfillment.
Hire Only the Very Best and Promote from Within
Using your vision and values as your foundation, your hiring processes should be designed to support your efforts to hire the best. Once your vision is translated into specific goals and actions, the types of individuals your company hires will play a major role in determining your company's success. Once you have hired the talent you need to execute your vision, take whatever steps are necessary to develop and retain those individuals. They are your future. Promote from within!
Establish a Specific Methodology for Continuously and Consistently Developing Your Future Leaders
Regardless of the current size of your organization, devote time and energy now to plan for your next generation of leadership. Don't expect your best contributors and highest producers to be magically transformed into successful managers when they receive their new titles. Remember, just because your best employees are technically competent does not mean that they possess the skills of an effective leader. A certain level of insecurity sets in when a highly successful technical contributor becomes a first-time manager.
As individual contributors, your best performers are at the top of their technical game. They have gained the acceptance of their peers and have been recognized even further when promoted. Such individuals are validated as valued employees and trusted colleagues.
When these individual contributors are promoted, they are suddenly wrenched from this fairly high level of gratification. Rather than being part of the team, they are now responsible for the team. Such a change will affect how well they perform as first-time managers. New responsibilities may make your new managers feel insecure and isolated, threatening their ability to adjust. Essentially, your once highly valued and secure employees must reestablish their places in the organization although at a much higher level.
The long-range success of your business depends on how quickly your newly-promoted managers can assimilate into their new roles. Will you leave this assimilation to chance?
Ideally, a specific course of leadership training should be provided before employees are thrust into the management arena. At a minimum, they must have some informal opportunities to develop the new skills they will need to meet the exciting challenge of a new career opportunity. Your continuing business success depends on it!
Christina Madrid, SPHR, a business coach and human resources consultant, is the owner of Breakthrough HR. Her company provides coaching, consulting and training, ranging from organization design to human resources consulting, to small and mid-sized businesses.