Developing Early Leaders & Managers

So its the age old question of development, especially at that early leadership stage of someone's career. We have all seen it and if are honest with ourselves some may have even done it. We have a few people that are doing really well in the business, they are progressing in their careers and showing signs of real success. So, we think to ourselves hmm, this person has bags of potential, they have a really bright future and definitely someone we could envisage leading a team.

After a while, that day comes along and you bring your budding talent into a room and have a conversation around giving them that promotion that reflects their hard work and their achievements over their career so far. You see their face light up and they are beaming with pride and you give them all the details of their new role and they walk out happy as Larry (sorry, couldn't resist that one) and they are off. Sound familiar to anyone?

Now here lies the issue or maybe a few issues, ok, quite a few issues if we are completely honest. How many senior managers have gone through this and really thought about the effects of promoting this person? How will it affect the team? what are the expectations on this person now they are in a new role? how do they fit in with the overarching business? Can they do this role? what support do they need? well, I am sure that you are probably thinking of a million more questions that could and should have been thought of beforehand and a ton of different 'well it depends on the situation' thoughts that spring to mind.

For me, there are two key things to think about before I even think about moving someone into this new world of management & leadership...

First and foremost, 'is this person ready? could we build a team round them that is going to benefit the business and the people within?

I have seen it time and time again in recruitment (as just one of many examples). Someone is a fantastic biller, they can win new business, place that candidate who is really challenging and in the words of the late Stuart Baggs, 'Everything they touch turns to sold'. But... is that person really right to build a team round? do they display the right behaviours? have they got the credibility? are they going to truly build a successful team that works really well together and brave the turbulent times as well as enjoying the good?

Secondly and most importantly, is 'how can i support this individual in their journey?' what are they going to need in the short, medium and long-term? where are their gaps in terms of knowledge, skills and tools they are going to need?

Helping early managers and leaders develop in the run up to their next move is critical, in the months leading up to their progression and then months and years after will make the difference in the effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of that individual and their team. It helps with engagement and retention, which are not just words that are flung around by talent professionals to sound swish and important, these are critical elements to organisations nowadays with the changing workforce.

How many good people have left for pastures new to a competitor? how many of them were ambitious, tenacious and had success written all over them, but decided to go elsewhere? these are those 'regretted leavers' we all talk about. How many of these regretted leavers are leaders and managers or potential leaders and managers that have been tempted away by other organisations for better career opportunities and development? Having a good picture painted by the 'exit interview' notes and taking note of what is being said is critical to getting this right. Also, listening to feedback from engagement surveys (annual, quarterly or pulse surveys) are gold dust when it comes to how your people feel.

Sydeney Yoshida presented the concept of the 'Iceberg of Ignorance' and the concept of improving the flow of information and where challenges lie within the business. As senior managers and leaders within an organisation it is key to be able to support the flow of information and take on board what is affecting the engagement of our people and why people may be leaving for pastures new.

So what is the answer? well, give your teams a career pathway, they will want to know there is somewhere for them to go should they want to. It is true, not everyone wants to develop up the career ladder, but they will probably want to know its there if they decide that they do.

Get some development programmes in place that gives people the opportunity to join similar people in similar situations facing similar challenges and collaborate as well as learn. There is as much learning off of other people as is from someone training. Think about some basic leadership & management training for those in those roles for the first time or who are about to step into them. Don't bamboozle them, just give them the basics with enough time between each session so they can actually implement it and track progress.

Give the digital generation and digital offering. put together a blended approach of workshops and digital learning resources. Think about how people use YouTube, Pinterest and Google to discover and learn things outside of the workplace and take those concepts and bring them closer to home with a LMS where people can dip in and out of short content that they want. Imagine a manager going into a disciplinary investigatory meeting for the first time and they cant quite remember everything from the workshop that covered the principles and guidelines. A quick refresher video or piece of content can give them a boost before they go in.

Senior leaders supporting their own management teams, coaching them and being there to share the trials and tribulations through mentoring partnerships. Supporting managers through goal setting and defining expectations will also help see the progression come to fruition.

Engage with external partners. Sometimes hearing someone else reaffirming messages of good practice makes a difference. Bringing someone in who sits outside the politics and the day to day running can help bring clarity and learning. Also, engage with external partners if you dont have that resource in-house. Just because it is not cost effective at the stage your organisation is at to have a full time Training or Talent person, doesn't mean that the cost of having someone 2 or 3 days a month is unreasonable when its stacked up against the cost of recruitment, especially if you utilise agencies with a 20% fee.

So, aside from the tongue in cheek humour and dodgy paraphrasing, the principles remain sound, take the time to invest in your people especially your early leaders as what you are actually doing is future-proofing your business with your people; after all, they are your most precious part of the business.