Leadership is all about an early start!

Irrespective of the scale, size and industry, the biggest challenge an organization faces in the present times is developing the right set of leaders. The proof of the pudding lies in the steep increase in focus and efforts on leadership development as organizations realize that efficient leadership and a strong pipeline is key to their success and survival. Moreover, organizations have also come to realize that developing leadership talent requires a different approach altogether compared to other talent development efforts. It needs to be looked at as an activity that requires a proactive and methodical approach.

There is no point in looking for a leader when you need one because by then the battle has already been lost. The key will be to identify, develop and have a strong pipeline of ready leaders and do it continuously. Of course, it is easier said than done and that’s where the challenge lies. Leadership is a complex mix of attributes, attitude, talent, skills and will. The first challenge inarguably is the identification of potential future leaders.

Here’s how organizations should go about identifying leadership talent. Start from the beginning. Identifying potential leaders should begin at the time of selecting candidates for jobs.

Organizations are increasingly encouraging such an ecosystem and going beyond the usual classroom trainings. Today, a number of organizations employ social tools integrated with e-learning and encourage collaborative learning among employees.

Such an ecosystem also brings out leadership talent in its own unique way. Potential leaders shine in such environments and also use this kind of a learning ecosystem to connect with people. When the time comes, the leader would be ready as it would be easy for him/her to work with people in a positive and participative manner.

Most organizations cannot do this internally owing to the scale, size of the organization and the lack of certain specific skills or processes required to develop leadership talent. The involvement of an external expert helps make the process fair, organized and efficient. A strong service partner brings with it a rich experience from working with various other organizations from different industries and domains. There are a number of benefits such partnerships bring:

Having the ‘right leaders’ at the ‘right time’ is all about starting early and having that foundation built in ‘right from the hiring process’. All that is needed then is providing the ‘right environment’ in a continuous and rigorous way.