Building leaders at all levels

Workforce, Oct, 2002 by Sarah Fister Gale

In an unpredictable economy, companies that have a network of leaders through-out the organization are the ones most likely to thrive. Employees who are given the opportunity to develop leadership skills are more inclined to take responsibility and feel pride in their work. When they are empowered to make decisions and be accountable For their actions, potential leaders take ownership in the success of the company, and often become superior performers.

"The velocity of business is increasing and the pace of change has picked up," says Jim Concelman, manager of leadership development at the Pittsburgh office of DDI, an employee selection and development company. An employee's ability to make independent decisions is especially critical as products and customer expectations evolve. In the wake of this change, the role of leadership is shifting as well, Concelman says. Front-line employees are expected to lead teams, mid-level managers are heading up strategic initiatives, and downsized staffs are expected to take responsibility for more work with less guidance.

These new opportunities call for more than management skills. They also require managers to arouse enthusiasm and establish an environment of respect and dependability, in which employees are encouraged and expected to contribute their opinions.

Historically, leadership development has been limited to the executive team and the few up-and-coming people who are groomed to replace them. That was fine in an economy in which the core business strategy could go unchanged for years and a stable corporate culture was the mainstay of success. This strategic model is no longer viable. Today, employees are given leadership titles and expected to figure out how to handle their new roles, but aren't effectively trained. Not surprisingly, they often flounder. The title "leader" in many organizations is met with scorn when the person assigned to the role has no idea how to behave in the new position.

"Offering leadership training is not just a feel-good issue, it's a critical business strategy," says Will Pilder, senior vice president of KnowledgePool Americas, a talent-management company in Nyack, New York. As companies battle for customer loyalty and new products emerge weekly, employees must have a developed set of leadership skills to foster the balance between freedom and reliability.

A successful leader must be able to communicate, motivate, and solve problems, Concelman says. But many managers aren't getting the necessary support to develop these skills. "Managers are taught to do things by the book, whereas leaders need to think of new ways to do things," he says. "The two skill sets are somewhat contradictory."

Jon Katzenbach, senior partner of Katzenbach Partners LLC, a performance consulting firm in New York City, adds that leadership is about more than following a set course. "It's a mind-set of adaptive responsiveness." This quality is particularly important at the front lines, where performance is directly linked to a leader's ability to inspire a team, and a service rep's freedom to respond to unique customer needs can make or break a company's reputation.

"Everyone benefits from leadership development," Pilder says. It prompts employees to work harder For the company and set more challenging career-development goals; it teaches managers to be better coaches to their own direct reports; and it prepares the entire population to react more effectively to a shifting workplace environment.

"Leadership at every level is the only way to infuse an organization with the values and morale to maintain productivity, even in the face of change," Pilder says. It's also the most effective succession-planning technique. No longer can you groom one individual for a specific job; you must have a pool of talented people who can assume any leadership role when the need arises, he says. When companies downsize or management positions open, companies must have the skills arid in-house experience to respond to the change immediately.

RSA attributes its surprisingly low turnover rate--20 percent annually-to its corporate values, which promote self-motivation, idea-sharing, and personal growth. Every employee is encouraged to set career goals, and leadership development is the foundation of the company's program to advance its most promising staff members. "We are a highly entrepreneurial organization that was founded by strong leaders," says Rita Proulx, a manager in the company's center for learning and development. "We want to drive those leadership skills down to everyone."

To achieve this goal, every new manager is expected to complete a rigorous leadershiptraining curriculum. Regardless of whether they are promoted from within or newly hired, managers receive a complete evaluation to determine their leadership strengths and gaps, she says. After six months on the job, they participate in a 360-degree assessment that rates them on 14 established leadership competencies such as building trust, coaching, communication, and delegating authority Based on the results, a custom training program is established to meet their individual needs and potential." The assessment process gives us an opportunity, early on, to guide their development as leaders," Proulx says.