When we describe a Leadership Development “tickbox exercise” it generally holds a negative connotation that it’s something that we’re doing so we can check it off. However, checking items off a list can be a motivator that keeps you on the path to a greater goal and provides needed motivation as milestones are met.
During one discovery meeting, a CEO of a company told me in his career he has been responsible for “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of training and felt much (if not most) was what I categorise as “one and done” training. He did not want me there to sell him an event. I wasn’t. His comment, though, highlights how many missing gaps appear when organisations provide leadership development to their leaders.
Leadership development, globally, is a multi-billion dollar industry, and if you know where to look you can find really valuable research to inform your decision-making. Here in New Zealand, small to medium size businesses (0-49 employees) make up 99% of businesses. They simply do not have the budget for leadership development as do the large organisations. This does not mean they cannot develop a successful leadership development program.
Learning “on the job” is a black hole for leadership
Simply spending more time on the job will not make you a better leader. The opposite happens. One study of 65,268 leaders showed leadership effectiveness of 60 leadership behaviours that differentiate great leaders from poor ones showed a steady decline as leaders age. Time can be clocked, but there’s no guarantee any leadership behaviour has improved. It’s the difference between 10 years of experience and 1 years experience 10 times.
So, how can an SME or any sized organisation develop an effective leadership development strategy, within a budget?
Make a checklist.
Examine your Leadership Culture
Assume your people want to be great leaders as your starting point. Without the support of the organisation and the support of their managers, this will also be your end point. Go home.
HR, often slated for being a tickbox element to certain initiatives, certainly has a role to play. But they need the help of senior leaders to provide the developmental opportunities and implement leadership initiatives. Mangers to direct reports hold a key role in continuous development by having the right conversations in the development process. Do you stand in the way of leadership development or do you know what it takes to give your people what they need to succeed? Culture is huge – from “take a concrete pill and harden up” to getting to the heart of what makes people tick can be a massive undertaking to change. Wherever you are on this scale, it is impacting on your ability to develop leadership capability and it’s in your hands to do something about it.
The collective efforts of all your leadership team components need to focus on supporting learning from experience.
Why is this such a critical piece of the puzzle?
Remember 70 – 20 – 10?
Decribed as an “approach developed to help people and organisations perform at the speed of business”, the model is based on the principle that:
- 70 percent of learning comes from experience, experiment and reflection.
- 20 percent derives from working with others.
- 10 percent comes from formal interventions and planned learning solutions.
Like most models, there’s polarising thoughts and opinions on it. I think it’s better to try something than nothing. Atleast you will learn something new. But it does highlight the need to leverage the 70% properly – not just “learn on the job”.
If you want to take Leadership Development seriously, you need to be deliberate with the 70% work experience.
Beware of “One and Done” Leadership Training Events
I was fortunate to spend a couple of years in the Training and Development Team with Foodstuffs Auckland (FSA), prior to the merge that produced Foodstuffs North Island.
At the time, FSA ran legendary Leadership Development programs essentially providing a pathway from trolleyboy to Chairman of the Board – with a network of store owners and store managers working together to grow worldclass grocers. The pipeline programs had been developed over a twenty year period. A critical component was how the whole organisation supported the work experience of those in the programs. It was not uncommon for participants to be moved or placed with strategically selected store owners and mentors.
How can this component be implemented in an SME?
The principle is the same: Provide the opportunity for the behaviour change you want to see.
Be intentional with following up a learning event with opportunities to implement the new learning and stretch assignments. This is where most organisations come unstuck, but where I work together with leadership to support the behaviour change process. Your one and done training can be super-charged by adding the following:
- Build in actions and review them. Every training event should contain “next steps” and be supported through manager review. Simply: Plan – Do – Review.
- Create work assignments that will develop leadership skills. Assign them to the right people who will benefit from the assignment.
- Create stretch assignments. Following the process of developing stretch goals for leaders flows on to their ability to set stretch goals with their direct reports.
Meaningful stretch goals and assignments need to provide an opportunity to impact on development of leadership behaviours. Remember, more time on the job does not develop effective leadership. Foodstuffs trainees were expected to develop a business impact project that was meaningful to them and made a difference to their business unit. The projects were varied, with a financial measure that ranged from several hundred to several thousands. While that provided a direct return on training investment, the true ongoing value was the development of leadership behaviours in the businesses for many years, even decades.
Start Early
Leadership development is left far too late. To wait until a person is 40+ years old before investing in leadership behaviours means they have several decades of on the job experience practice to unlearn. That makes no sense. Developing leadership behaviour early means reaping the benefits early. This often is a mindset that needs adjusting, as I’ve heard plenty of times “once they have the training they will leave.” That might be true in some cases – but not necessarily. Equally, do you want to leave them in your business with no training?
Leadership is about challenging assumptions, identifying obstacles, taking initiative and setting goals. That’s just beginning with Self Leadership, let alone leading a team!
Challenge your own assumptions on what stops you investing in Leadership Development. What’s the bigger picture? What if your entire industry invested in and supported a leadership culture? Sure, you’ll always lose some team members, but you can also attract new ones who are hungry for the opportunity.
Where can you start?
Book in some time to discuss where you are at in your organisation. Seek to understand why leadership development is beneficial to you. Work through the Leadership Development Ticklist and discuss it with your leadership team. If, then, you’re ready to start, we’ll develop a leadership journey that supports your organisation as it learns how to transform it’s leadership development.
Leadership Development Ticklist
- Examine Leadership Development Culture – does it support learning through development opportunities?
- Get Senior leaders onboard to deliberately support leadership development
- Properly assess the behavioural change needs – start early in their leadership career
- Match with meaningful development assignments; measure change.
- Build and strengthen leadership behaviours