Executive development is no longer a “nice to have.” Organizations are facing the prospect of many people leaving the workforce in the next few years, either due to Baby Boomers retiring or people choosing to retire at an earlier age. This means there is a looming issue around who will be “ready now” to fill top leadership positions as retirement and attrition occur. In addition, retention is a key factor for continuously educating and developing people. Research shows that organizations that invest in their people and continuously educate and develop their people have a higher retention rate than those who do not.
At YOU CAN LEAD LLC, we believe that executive development has three critical components. The “foundation” includes leadership competency models, 360 feedback tools to assess and determine how people need to develop, and transition tools for successfully moving executives into new positions of responsibility.
Next, a strategy is required for assignment-based development. Statistics show that people develop 70 percent on the job, 20 percent through other people, and 10 percent through formal classroom learning. With 70 percent of development occurring on the job, it is essential to identify which particular assignments or experiences are going to help people develop into positions of increased responsibility and scope. By creating a systematic and systemic approach to development, you “grow” great leaders and build a leadership pipeline.
Third, we must provide programs that impart information, build leadership competencies, and equip leaders to understand and implement strategy. If we tailor programs to the organization’s business demands, we enhance leader capability and ensure business success.
YOU CAN LEAD can help your organization to create a foundation and offer assignment-based and programmatic approaches to achieve organizational objectives.
Excerpt from interview with Donna Riechmann in Future Pharmaceuticals (2006).
Donna, how do you implement development initiatives that help achieve enterprise strategy?
“By being relevant! This may include initiatives like leadership summits on topics critical to the company’s success. It might be action learning, or targeted courses, or leader-led learning. There are lots of organizations that have been very successful with leaders taking a major role in being responsible for developing others. Leadership development is a strategic partner when we understand the company’s business and then enable people to develop competencies to achieve strategic objectives.”
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