Leadership development leaders
Chief Executive and the Chally Group just released their list of the top companies for leadership development. They’ve done this since 2005. Here’s their description.
“we canvas world-class companies through a questionnaire and interviews to learn what they are doing to identify and nurture people three or more levels down the chain from the CEO.”
There’s nothing new here. And that’s not a surprise.
The news is not the important part
Oh, sure, the list has some new names. That will make the news. And some companies have moved up or down. Some new names appear. That will make the news, too. But the most important lessons lurk behind the news items.
Leadership development is really kind of boring. It’s not new and exciting. It doesn’t involve gourmet meals at work or the latest leaderless workplace fad.
Great leadership development essentials
The CEO is involved at companies that do leadership development well. In fact, they involve managers throughout the organization.
Those companies have baked leadership development processes into the culture of the business. A regular cadence of meetings and review sessions is part of the everyday work of the company.
The really hard part
The hard part about great leadership development isn’t knowing what to do. Everybody knows. The hard part isn’t doing the tasks. They’re pretty easy. The hard part is doing it for decades.
Leadership development is a long game. Top three perennials GE, IBM, and Proctor and Gamble have CEOs who came up through the ranks and each one has been with the company for more than thirty years.
The hard part is the everyday part. It’s doing the things you need to do even when there are other things crying out for attention. Doing one review and coaching session and debrief after another for decades.
