Feb
25
What’s the State of your Leadership Practice?
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A Fortune article “Catch a Rising Star” looks at rising top talent within large corporates. The following quote from the article really hit home for me the importance of talent in this new economy:
“Gates once said that if you took the 20 smartest people out of Microsoft, it would be an insignificant company. Imagine. The world’s software colossus reduced to insignificance by the loss of just 20 people. It’s suddenly easier to see why the company went ballistic over the loss of just one.”
One of the greatest skills required, according to the article is the need for “effective managers”, especially in the higher up in organisational structures. Tom Neff a headhunter from SpencerStuart a top CEO recruiter mentions the following requirements of organisations of their top managers:
Companies don’t want dictators, kings, or emperors.” Instead of someone who gives orders, they want someone who asks probing questions that force the team to think and find the right answers……a new survey from Right Management Consultants…….. finds that the No. 1 skill companies seek in managers is “ability to motivate and engage others.”…….. Ranking a close second is ability to communicate…….. Standout leaders should additionally have on-the-ground operating experience outside the U.S.…..and they’ll need megawatts of energy to meet the demands of global travel and a 24/7 world.
So how is leadership development attempting to meet the need…….?
How many people with those qualities are you likely to find if you just go out looking? The depressing answer–not many–is why many companies are getting serious about growing their own leaders. In a world where top managers can cost as much as top shortstops, a baseball analogy is apt: Companies want to find their future stars in their own farm systems rather than have to buy them from competing teams. Trouble is, most companies aren’t very good at leadership development………..77% of companies say they don’t have enough successors to their current senior managers. Yet they have a miserable time doing much about it………..
Where do we look to find the most powerful leadership experiences?
Steven Kerr, another GE alum who now oversees leadership development at Goldman Sachs, suggests a simple exercise: “Ask your company’s best leaders to name the most powerful learning experiences they’ve had.” They will hardly ever mention a class and will almost always name a real-life experience in business. The challenge is to find ways to replicate those experiences.
I found this short article insightful, it really grabbed my attention. With the proliferation of leadership theories, knowledge and training, it’s still the practice of leadership that really makes the leader……….. what’s the state of your leadership practice?
Are you having powerful leadership experiences?
Leadership experiences and one of the most important tools for leadership development. Are you consciously seeking out leadership experiences. Leadership experiences, are those that take you out your comfort zone, out of your everyday routine and cause you to embrace some risk. If you honestly evaluate your “leadership career”, do you have ten years of leadership experience…….or do you have a one year leadership experience repeated ten times?
Technorati Tags: Leadership Practice, Personal Leadership, Leadership, Management, Leadership Development
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[...] mentioned in a previous post, “If you honestly evaluate your “leadership career”, do you have ten years of leadershipexperience…….or do you have a one year leadership experience repeated ten times?.” To develop leaders need to seek experiences that will create a shift in their worldview either through changes in career, industry, travel and exposure to other cultures. Whilst they seek diverse experiences they strive to keep a positive response and always looking for opportunities to learn and grow. [...]
[...] The title of the post is, “What is the State of Your Leadership Practice?” [...]