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The existing leadership team at your company is not a permanent fixture. With the average tenure of an executive director lasting approximately three to five years and a CEO between seven and eight years, it is important that potential leaders are recognized and developed before they are expected to fill managerial shoes. If you don’t start preparing and developing their skillsets now, your business could be negatively impacted in the future.
What can you do to prepare your company’s leaders of tomorrow?
Identify Potential Leaders – Do you know who has the qualities of a leader in your office? There are typically five key signs that you should be on the lookout for when it comes to identifying leadership potential, which can be identified by asking a few questions. Does he or she have the desire to inspire their peers? Do they have the conviction to “walk the walk” of the company’s values? Are they willing to stand and take charge when there is opposition? Is he or she accountable no matter the situation? Are they consisted with their behavior and thoughts?
Conduct Reviews and Evaluations – Try to make time in the office schedule to conduct reviews for employees, especially for those being considered for leadership positions. This will help ensure that they are living up to expectations and will let the candidates know where they need some improvement.
Mentoring – A wonderful way to help foster leadership skills is by pairing employees with more senior employees and current leaders in a mentorship program. Building this relationship will allow for discussions on work styles, company culture, working with different personalities, and many other important leadership topics. This will also help build trust between employees and management, and management in the future leaders.
Training – Training courses can help fill the gaps for potential leaders while further developing their abilities. With 15 to 20-percent of the variance in a company’s performance coming down to leadership, this is no place to skimp on training. At Communispond, we offer a series of interrelated training programs to help develop leadership skills. For example, in our Permission to Manage™ training, participants learn about the critical skills necessary for implementing routine tactics for managing performance while putting structure into their management practices. Our Expectations, Measurement, and Accountability™ program then provides participants with the skills and framework to both put performance expectations in place and help ensure that they are clear, measurable, and understood.
Would you like to start developing the future leaders in your company? Contact Communispond today to learn about our full offering of leadership training today!