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Over the years, nearly every organization we've worked with has trained their supervisors on coaching skills. (In a recent study we reviewed, approximately 92% of the organizations surveyed said they do invest in leadership training.) In our experience, however, very few organizations show a long-term commitment to teaching and encouraging their managers to coach, mentor, and develop their subordinate managers. Those that do, again in our experience, tend to be extraordinary in every way.
In our featured article this month, Cindy LeMasters, Director of Operations for Mortgage Contracting Services explores the need to develop leaders at every level through the lens of succession planning. We hope this month's article will give you some thoughts about what is going on in your organization--and what could be.
| Inspiring Maximum Contribution in Your Leaders |
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Imagine being offered your dream job with
all the
perks--if you could name a viable successor (a
person who could immediately take on your roles and
responsibilities). Could you do it?
You may think it an outlandish question, however
when an early mentor asked me that question, I
came to four shocking realizations: 1) I was not
actively developing my managers for success in
future positions (though we gave a lot of attention to
developing the individual contributors). 2) I had
allowed my managers to rely on me for success in
their current positions (evidenced by the crises that
erupted each time I left the office). 3) I was limiting
my organization's success by not leading and
developing our managers/supervisors. 4) I was
narrowing my own opportunities by being essential in
my current position.
Unfortunately, I quickly realized I was not alone. It is
a rarity to find leaders who are actively and intensely
engaged in developing their managers/supervisors.
The Barriers
Though expressed in a variety of ways, the
reasons leaders don't develop their
managers/supervisors seem to fall into a few
categories.
- They don't see the need: It's
challenging to see
and define the skills and qualities that separate the
levels of management in an organization-not the
tasks, not the number of people you manage, but the
actual skills and qualities that ensure success.
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