What is Leadership Development?  

Developing the next generation of leaders is a hot topic for many of my clients, large and small, for-profit and non-profit.   Work force demographics (read retiring baby boomers) are a big driver for this growing interest along with the changing demands of everyone's marketplace.

It is interesting to me that each client seems to have a different idea in mind when we start to discuss leadership development.  To get us all on the same page, we define Leadership Development as a deliberate and systematic process to:

•  Identify critical leadership competencies,
•  Identify pools of high-potential candidates at all levels of the organization,
•  Accelerate the development of mission-critical leadership competencies through intentional development, and
•  Regularly measure progress.

(Regular readers of this newsletter will notice that this definition is very close to my definition of succession management.  That's no coincidence.  I view them as being one in the same.)

I've highlighted some terms in the definition to emphasize what I view as the critical components of leadership development that makes a difference.

Leadership Development should be viewed as a process, not a one time event.  That process should be driven from and linked closely to the business strategy.

If you don't get the competencies right, than nothing else matters.  The competencies must be future-focused and clearly define high-performance and high-potential.

Leadership development should focus on pools of talent at all levels of the organization and not just at the top.  You actually start feeding the pipeline of talent for your organization with every entry-level hire that you make.

Development must be intentional.  Mission-critical leadership competencies are not developed through training.  Leadership development has more to do with individualized development planning that is supported by a range of non-traditional tools such as coaching, targeted rotational assignments, mentoring and development cohorts.

Properly implemented leadership development has been shown to have a positive ROI.  However, the process and its impact should be measured to assure that it is on track and creating the desired business results.

If you and your company are looking to create the next generation of leaders, make sure that your definition of the process is clear.

Who Is Taking Over?

Developing Your Next Generation of Leaders  

Still time to register! 

The topic applies to non-profit and for-profit alike

Workshop presented by Michael Couch and Richard Citrin 

 Bayer Center for Non-Profit Management

Robert Morris University

Tuesday, March 26 from 9 a.m. - noon

Many for-profits and non-profits are facing a changing of the guard in leadership.  In addition, the demands placed on leadership are ever changing.  What assurances exist that the next crop of leaders will be ready to assume the ranks of responsibility in growing your nonprofit towards the fulfillment of your mission?

This workshop will provide a systematic process to identify the key elements of what makes a great leader for your nonprofit, where leaders come from within the organization and how best to develop them so they will have the skills and competencies to assume the role when their day arrives.

Fee: $65 ($55 if paid online)

Click here to register or for more information

I get that question all the time so here is a quick summary of a few of our recent projects.