By Lorraine Grubbs
This article, the first of several, will outline for any company, large or small, a proven and effective process for developing leaders.
Regardless of size, every company needs strong, competent leaders that can operate efficiently and help grow the business. Yet, many leaders are not sufficiently trained.
In my many years of developing leaders, one thing has been a constant; creating good leaders takes time and effort. The investment you make today can pay big dividends down the road in the form of motivated, dedicated, and productive employees delivering good customer service and giving you a better bottom line. Good leadership development is worth the time and effort.
Companies that don’t have internal training departments typically default to either doing nothing at all or sending their leaders to a one day class hoping that they will receive the magic key for instant success.
The first approach, doing nothing, is like throwing them in the deep end of the pool and watching them sink to the bottom. Obviously this is not an acceptable approach and most will drown. Sending them to a one day class, while more effective, will probably result in the participant returning to the workplace, the training notebook going on the bookshelf, and them falling back into their old routine. Money spent, nothing gained.
Before starting your leadership development initiative, a strong commitment from you and your future leader is essential. This effort will not be easy, or quick. Both parties must be committed to the entire process, much like when you enroll in a university to pursue a degree.
So, now that you have selected the leader you want to develop, the first step is to evaluate their current level of leadership performance. This is done through a tool called a 360 Degree Assessment.
The 360 is a survey that requests information about the leader’s performance from their superior, peers and direct reports. The categories are designed around critical leadership performance areas. Here is an example of those categories:
- Administrative: delegation, timeliness and accuracy, budget management
Leadership: accountability, setting right example, respect and empathy
Communication: listening, presentation skills, keeping everyone in the loop
Interpersonal: is respected by others, is approachable, maintains good attitude
Decision Making: makes solid decisions, uses logic and common sense
Technical: embraces technology, recommends improvement, seeks innovation
Personal Motivation: good work ethic, enthusiastic and dedicated, goes above
Customer Orientation: makes decisions in interest of customer, puts themselves in customers’ shoes, maintains good relationships with customers and vendors
The assessment asks the person to rate the leader on a scale of one to five leaving room for specific comments. The participants selected should be the leader’s boss, at least 2 peers, and any direct reports. When setting up the process, it is important that you explain to each participant what is happening and why their involvement is so important. Trust is paramount. It’s usually better to have a third party collect the assessment so the participants feel more comfortable giving truthful answers. Below is an example of how I usually explain the assessment to participants who will be receiving it:
| Good leaders know that in order to be as effective as possible, they must always be growing and learning. Regardless of what they think of their leadership skills, they are only as effective as what their superior, direct reports, and peers perceive of their skills.
You have been identified as one of several individuals who can provide valuable input to (leader’s name) performance. Your individual response will be anonymous (that’s why they are sent to a separate third party.) Once all the evaluations are received, the results will be compiled in a composite report that will give only the combined, not the individual results.
Please take the time to fill out this information and return it by email no later than (date).
Thanks for helping (future leader). Your feedback will help ensure the leadership team at (company) remains at the top of their game. Remember, the information is only as good as what you honestly answer. Again, your individual responses WILL NOT be shared with this leader, rather, will be included in a composite report which will only give the group score, not the individual evaluator’s name or scores.
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When the results have been compiled, an Executive Coach will sit with your trainee, review results and put together a Personal Development Plan. We will talk about how to find that Executive Coach and developing a Plan in next month’s article.
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Lorraine Grubbs is the president of Lessons in Loyalty. You can contact Lorraine at 281-813-0305 or by email at [email protected]
www.lessonsinloyalty.com
