As more and more companies grapple with the idea of a gap in leadership to take them from where they are now to where they want to go, human resources departments are being urged to develop new leadership programs, devise new ways to pick out the potential leaders, and combine analytics, science and psychology to determine which new hires have the potential to lead the firm into the future.
The problem is knowing what to look for in the shifting, morphing workplaces that are moving in to replace traditional hierarchical organizations.
Human resources departments know that just spending money on the leadership issue won’t solve it until there is a focused approach for the future.
Changing corporate structures mean there is less demand for the hierarchical, stand-alone leader meant to inspire the team and much more demand for a unique kind of team leadership.
In the new world of work, there is not one leader, but many leaders. In teams, a person who leads in one project may be the bottom of the ladder in the next project, depending on the unique skills that they bring to the table.
Tomorrow’s leaders must be able to both lead and step aside as technological changes demand different skill sets. As opposed to knowing all the answers and having the vision, their skills are more centered on being able to draw out the best of others and asking them to lead when circumstances warrant it.
The new leader needs to be supportive and open-minded, able to cross over the five generations that currently inhabit the average workplace and the increasingly cultural diverse work teams.
It may be time to recommend to management that the investment in leadership be rethought. The old rules have changed.
The new leaders will emerge by observing which people in the organization are most effective at igniting their teams. Which ones are quick to notice the skills of team members and capitalize on them? Which ones are able to build effective teams and expand on them with additions both from within the organization and outside of it?
A broader definition of leadership is emerging. It is not the lone wolf who sits at the top of the mountain, eyes the prize, and charges forward, leading the way and demanding that others follow.
Instead, it is the democratic diplomat who builds a circle of skill around themselves and gauges who should lead for the next project and who should lead for the next one after that. It is the leader who keeps an eye on the goal, but understands instinctively that goals are moving targets and having it focus by more than one person will make it more likely to be met.
An important note to pay attention to when trying to gauge leadership and creating initiatives of leadership development is measuring your results. Just saying leadership development is important for your company is not enough. Quantifying the results of your investments and efforts in leadership development means taking an active role to analyze and improve. If employees know that their performance is not tracked and measured, the initiatives the company is taking will not be taken seriously.
So ask yourself now, how will you deal with leadership development?
Roz Bahrami is a regular blogger for Skyprep.com.
