Global Leadership Development - Coursework Example

Global Leadership Development Global Leadership Development In previous year, organizations used to target few individuals to create leadership development. It proved difficult or impossible to incorporate first generation systems as tools for aiding in leadership development. Companies lacked a proper system whereby they could harmonize their methods of assessment and selection of leaders. They also needed to create programs that enabled skill development and evaluate the success of such programs in a harmonious way. Today with the rise of new technological advancement tools, the issue of leadership development can be simplified. Technology can aid in leadership development across an entire organization and through all levels of the workforce. The focus of this white paper is to investigate the challenges of leadership in an organization. Secondly, it explores how incorporation of technology in leadership development programs boosts the overall success of the processes and practices of the programs. Leadership Challenges in Business The success of any organization is basically founded on its leadership. The past leadership scandals in multinational organizations such as Enron, AIG, and the prime loan mortgage crisis reduced the faith and confidence on the leadership of companies across the globe. In a poll conducted on the leadership of major crucial companies as detailed in the Harvard Business Review shows significant results to support these claim. Out of those surveyed 51% had significantly reduced their confidence on non-U.S. companies’ business leaders. Also, a significant 76% of people had little confidence on the leadership of leaders of the U.S. based companies. Furthermore, the act of developing and ability of organizations to retain good leadership has been an issue of concern since the past. In research termed “2008 IBM Global Human Capital Study”, 75% of the respondents identified talent body as a critical challenge. Despite the economic crisis around the globe in the year 2009, management and executive roles positions posed significant challenges in filling those positions. In a research survey known as global Taleo noted that lack or shortage of talent has hampered efforts of leadership development. From the results of the 930 companies surveyed 80% of them identified shortage of talent as major hindrance to their efforts of leadership development. In addition, as the baby boomers retire they pose a critical challenge of getting suitable replacements. In a report compiled by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Saratoga’s “2008/2009 Human Capital Effectiveness Report,” found significant results supporting this claim. It projects by the year 2015 that 29% of executives and 19% of managers would be set for retire. The probable baby boomer drain should initiate efficient strategies that would ensure smooth running and success of organizations in the future. The advent of economic recession has significantly extended the stay of many baby boomers in leadership positions. However, this is has not yet solved the existing leadership gap in upcoming generations. It seems to have only given companies to streamline their leadership development efforts. Though the task ahead of creating efficient leadership development programs is quite challenging. There needs to be ways in which we can identify a leadership potential person and able to differentiate a good manager from a good leader. In order for an organization to be successful it is vital to have both managers and leaders. Managers role is to ensure that organization activity runs smoothly in a daily basis whereas a leader serves to enthuse, influence, and drive people towards a mutual objective. Therefore the development of employees has to take account these differences and be able to collectively develop these set of skills. Elements of Leadership Development Programs To develop comprehensively leadership building programs need to carefully structure talent management activities. The advances technology nowadays are instrumental in creating a harmonious talent program. The talent management functions include: Recruitment process in search for individuals with leadership talent. Assessments to carry out evaluation of persons’ with leadership capabilities Performing management to guide the process of creating quality leaders Succession planning to ensure that in future there is no leadership gaps Career planning to educate and inform employees on the opportunities of leadership at their disposal Development to ensure there is a continued availability of individuals to fill the skill gaps To create a successful program that develops quality leaders there is need to fist ensure that the company strategy is reflected in the leadership development. Secondly, identification of types of leadership styles needed to achieve the company’s goals is crucial. Identification of Potential Leaders in a Company A clear description of the specific leadership skills and competencies has to be in the leadership program so to be able to pinpoint possible leaders within an organization. Competence Models Competence models are a vital tool in identifying individuals with leadership qualities when conducting performance reviews. One common model being used nowadays was developed by SHL, and is known the SHL’s Great Eight Leadership competencies. The model involves: Creation and conceptualization Analysis and interpretation Leadership and decision making Interaction and presentation Adaptation and coping Support and cooperation Enterprising and performance Organization and execution A competence model have to have the following basic requirements: definition of the components for measurement of success and incorporate them into the company’s performance management system. This helps in laying down the assessment criteria and required standards of competence. The search of leaders can be from inside or outside the company. There need to be an evaluation of whether it is relatively cheap and less time consuming to develop internal leadership or its better to outsource leaders from outside. Performance Management as a tool to Identify Internal Leaders Individuals with leadership qualities are tested for such capabilities during the process of performance management. It entails an evaluation of the objectives and plans for development, gather all round feedback, and do a rating of an individual progress to date. Advantages of Developing Internal Leaders The building of internal leadership tends to increase or achieve a company’s productivity by about 50% faster than externally outsourced leaders. This is especially applicable whereby internal politics and structure of a company is instrumental to accomplishing tasks. The creation of a system that gives opportunities for leadership development for the junior staff is a morale booster and helps in retention of employees. In addition, company’s boards nowadays seem to “road-test” probable leaders to be appointed as CEOs or CFOs before handing them the responsibilities. In the advent that there is leadership gap which is not possible to be internally filled, the recruitment process should incorporate same measurements to select leaders. The competency of these individuals should be evaluated in order to ensure the company keeps quality leaders in the future. Recruitment Process as tool to identify internal Leaders Recruitment of individuals with the right skills for the job is essential in ensuring a smooth flow of leadership talent in an organization. These can involve methods such as full evaluations and online pre-assessments. The tools for online pre-assessment fastens the filtration process of individuals that pass a certain set minimum score. Candidates that do not qualify are usually automatically filtered out through self-test online questionnaire. These saves a lot of time in the recruitment process since the recruiters focus is on only the promising candidates. An assessment is advantageous since it prevents the recruiter from wasting a lot of time during the filtering process. The use of longer assessment tests is critical in getting qualified candidates or pinpoint a foreseen talent to create good future leaders. The use of traditional formal assessment tools is usually avoided when choosing senior-level executives. However, it can be a useful tool when it comes to developing leaders of the future during management training, recruitment process and leadership development. Case Study: Whirlpool- Creating demand for positions through Innovation Whirlpool Corporation is integrating technology and innovation on its recruitment process by attracting the right talent to keep up with the demand of quality leadership. The following characteristics can be used to measure the success of this company: 1) the rate at which it attracts talent and engages talent. 2) Its dedication to the development of a focused and quality leadership development program. 3) Its strong presence on college campuses to inspire and get the prospective top talent available. The results obtained are as follows: the number of people applying to take part in the leadership development program; gotten from the career website tripped in 2008 and 2009. Furthermore, the strong presence of innovation on the career website markets Whirlpool as the probable destination for innovation, transparency and fun. Whirlpool satisfies the needs of millennials through focusing on creative solutions and exploration of other possibilities away from the commonly known. In addition, Whirlpool manages to create a flexible career development path through its tradition of project postings. This is one major contributor to the success of Whirlpool in scooping some top awards and recognition in the industry. In 2008 Whirlpool was listed by the BusinessWeek as the best destinations for an individual starting his career. Also, Whirlpool was placed in the top 20 list for global companies for leaders by Fortune. Identification of Leadership Gaps To identify the gaps left out in leadership one needs to assess the individual as well as the organization’s readiness. The following are key guidelines for companies that wish to identify the leadership gaps: Knowhow of what qualities are required for the current and future leaders Do a comparison of the required qualities with the present team of leaders Pinpoint the probable current leaders that are considering to leave the organization Create solid succession plans to fill gaps of those opting to leave the organization Evaluate the organization’s leadership development pipeline Note the skill gap present and time for filling those gaps Develop Succession Plans for Critical Roles Succession plans are vital for any organization as it ensures continual productivity for the organization. Succession planning streamlines the company’s smooth operations in the advent that a CEO departures either abruptly or it’s anticipated. This prevents instances of disruption and employee trauma. Thus, companies’ policies should clearly document the succession planning techniques. Succession planning should involve other organization critical leadership roles and not just the executive roles. There needs to be a well-structured leadership roles definition in various departmental levels. It is a trend in most companies to put much emphasis on succession plans at director’s level than on the management level. According to a study conducted by Bersin & Associates; majority of companies have only succession plans at the most senior executive levels. Less than 40% of the respondents admitted their company’s inclusion of midlevel managers in the succession initiative. Also, notably 11% of them claimed to include first-line supervisors. The research findings from Bersin & Associates show that successful organizations over time incorporate all levels of the organization in their succession plans. This findings show some of the leadership gaps experienced in most organizations is a result of ignorance on the part of the management. However, through analysis of employee size in a company shows that companies with a greater number of employees, that is, over 10,000 takes into account the importance of developing leadership talent on all departmental levels. Coaching and mentoring Leadership grooming has long been dependent on the apprentice model. Current trends show the popularity of coaching and mentoring as methods of creating succession planning programs. In a survey conducted by American Medical Association (AMA) in 2008 noted that about 60% companies in North America use coaching as tool for creating next generation leaders. In the international or global scale the percentages were much higher. The use of social media has recently been gaining popularity in conducting external mentoring programs. Technology to Support Succession Planning To create an efficient succession planning program an incorporation of technological systems is crucial. These technology systems serve to accomplish the following tasks: To develop a data file backup strategy that can be used as reference when reviewing recruitment and performance process, as well as individual career plans. Incorporate several candidates to the list of succession and filtering out the best candidates without the need for actually adding them to the plan. Show the profiles of several prospective talents across all levels of the organization from the top management to \\he lower level, and quickly choose the best candidates. Track the preparedness of candidates by identifying the skills, competencies and performance. Also, give priority the top candidates using their ranking levels and composite feedback scores. Develop career planning goals for potential leaders In the past, career planning was considered to be an individual’s responsibility. However, recent researches show that companies with efficientemployee career support program have an upper edge in engagement, retention, and protection of the pipeline of leadership. Research findings from a 2008 Taleo Research show that averagely 61% of employees left their previous employers due to lack of career advancement opportunities. Employees require more than a job, according to the research paper conducted by Taleo in 2009. It does not matter whether it is in a recession, employees need more engagement from the employer which they do not get. The study findings are as follows: 45% can see available job opportunities within the organization 42% see an avenue of opportunity of advancing their careers 57% actively discuss on the future of their careers with their employer 40% are able to get accessibility to online career tools A survey conducted by certain researcher found out that employees at some point were lured by other organizations even though they were not actively seeking employment. Also, 77% of employees between the ages of 36 to 40 take an average of 5 years in a new job in a leadership position. The fusion of career planning with employment development helps employees get the right paths towards career advancement, as well as monitoring of their progress. This then can be followed by incorporation of competency evaluation programs. Develop a Skills Roadmap for future leaders After the selection and identification of employees with top talent and skills, it is critical to develop a skills roadmap that would cater for the future leaders. Skills can be developed inside or outside the classroom setting thus it is critical to include both traditional and non-traditional learning the development programs. The non-formal learning includes activities such as rotational assignments, mentoring, coaching, job shadowing, and project leadership. Also, incorporation of new technological leaning tools such as social networking is vital. Develop Retention Programs for current and future leaders Retention strategies for employees is always vital for any organization. This can involve ‘monetary or non-monetary rewards but focus should be much on the top achievers and performers. Some of the top rewards given to employees include salary and bonuses. However, promotions and balancing work and life was also a critical employee reward. Employees are highly motivated by aligning their pay to performance, but great leaders align the company’s goals to performance. Another strategy of retention and boosting of morale of future leaders is to incorporate them in decision making process. The initiative allows to comprehensively know the objectives of the company, as well as its mission, vision, values and what part they can play to ensure the success of the business. It is vital to acknowledge a well done job rather than stock options. Leadership retention serves two important roles namely: The turn-over is costly An optimum business performance is driven by top performers The Cost Associated with Executive Turn-over It is a huge cost to a business enterprise if it loses an executive officer such as CEO. The direct costs include severance pay, expenses, and recruitment process, as well as the probable increased salary of the next CEO. The costs sometimes seem to continue as probably other important executive members such as COO, VPs, and CFO might exit after the CEO. According to a “2005 Study on Executive Turnover in Healthcare” by the Oklahoma University, the arrival of a new CEO will lead to an exit of some members of the leadership team within a period of one year. Hence, computing all the costs of leaders exiting a firm in a year the costs are quite high. Conclusion To be able to attract, retain, fill and identify top corporate leaders there needs to be a well-structured program for leadership development. Leadership development is vital in achieving best results of the talent management program of an organization. It also requires well calculated execution of various practices of talent management. Use of technological tools is essential in creating efficient recruitment processes, performance management, assessments, career planning and succession plans, and development programs. An optimized and efficient leadership program contains the following: A leadership talent future pipeline structure To ensure that corporate goals are in line with the talent sought Boosts morale of employees Increases retention initiatives A more develop set of leadership skills Better assessment of achievement of organization skills Successful organizations in this world are led by strong leaders. The new technological applications are vital in talent management practices. They will help in identification and development of top leaders across all levels of the organization who can lead the business to a success. Read More