Developing new leaders is critically important for a company's long-term survival. However, how does a company create a plan to groom the next generation of leaders when there are no anticipated vacancies, limited time available to devote to training and mentoring, and tight budgets?
For many of our clients, the senior leaders of the company are often skilled owner-operators who employ one, maybe two, executives and very few managers. It is often challenging for these individuals to delegate work to others, let alone mentor junior staff to become future leaders.
One of our clients has developed a long-range strategy to address this challenge. Having grown very quickly in the past few years to more than 100 staff in multiple locations across the country, the company realized that almost all decision-making authority and people management responsibility rested with one senior manager. They embarked on a plan to develop new managers so that the company can continue to function effectively.
The approach that this client is taking provides numerous best practices for other business owners and senior leaders in order to develop and groom their next generation of leaders:
1. Identify key positions in the company. If key positions are identified, actions can then be taken for succession or contingency planning. Key positions are those that require highly specialized knowledge; need a long lead time to fill; or where there would be significant consequences to the company if the functions were not being performed.
2. Identify high potential employees. Going hand in hand with identifying key positions is identifying employees who have the potential to fill those key positions in the future. Our client determined that there were several younger staff members who showed management potential. Even though there are no immediate management vacancies, grooming these employees to be future leaders gives the company more depth and flexibility.
3. Communicate plans. If someone has been identified as a high potential who can grow with the company, tell them. You do not need to promise a specific position, but letting a person know that they have been identified as a key player in the company, or can fill a key future role, will likely keep them motivated and engaged.
4. Provide opportunities for challenge and growth. Even if there is no management vacancy available, most employees still want to be challenged. Delegate interesting work to them or assign them special projects. Give them opportunities where they can learn new aspects of the business, develop new skills, lead people, or manage a project beginning to end. This is an easy way to transition high-potential employees into a leadership role without necessarily giving them a new title, significant changes in responsibilities or a big raise.
5. Involve employees in strategy sessions. The next generation of leaders isn't going to miraculously be able to develop business plans and strategies without having experience doing so. Get them involved early on in the process. Have them participate in sessions as an observer to expose them to an area of the business with which they may be unfamiliar, and to provide on-the-job mentoring. Our client invites senior and junior managers to annual management sessions to discuss business strategy, to teach management skills, and to allow an opportunity to share ideas and best practices.
6. Introduce key contacts. Bring the next generation to client meetings and networking events to allow them to start building face-to-face relationships with important customers, suppliers and industry colleagues. Our client wants junior staff to be more involved in presentations to customers so that their customers become more familiar with them.
7. Encourage conference attendance. Sending employees to attend industry conferences and workshops develops their knowledge and provides an opportunity to network with thought leaders and industry colleagues. Attendees can make presentations back at the company to share their learning with their colleagues. Another option is to encourage them to present at conferences to develop their public-speaking skills and to increase their visibility and their network.
Grooming your next generation of leaders doesn't need to be time-consuming or expensive, nor does it require readily available positions to promote high potential employees into. It does take commitment from the business owner and senior leaders to value developing their successors and to provide them opportunities for learning, coaching and mentoring. •
Cissy Pau ([email protected]) is the principal consultant of Clear HR Consulting, a Vancouver-based HR consulting firm that offers human resources consulting and downloadable HR solutions for small businesses
