Leadership development may be the most important thing any company does. That’s why, every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover leadership development to find the very best leadership development posts.
From Ron Thomas: Good Managers Aren’t Born. They’re Trained Early
How are we preparing our young leaders? This is such an impressionable category of young people and it is paramount that organizations recognize this. If your learning and development work is NOT properly preparing this budding talent you are not preparing your organization.
From Kevin Cook: It’s Time to Think Differently About Your Frontline Leaders
I see companies who often focus their scarce resources and budgets on their senior levels, and, increasingly, their mid-level leaders, in their efforts to identify and develop strong leaders. Bt, as they strive to move from good to great, they are sometimes neglecting the start of their leadership pipeline—frontline leaders. The companies I work with who are in it for the long haul, looking for sustained organizational performance, see the importance of the frontline to their success. They spend the time and budget needed to ensure they get the most from these critical leaders.
From Darleen DeRosa: How to Use Mentoring in Succession Planning
When it comes to grooming future leaders, organizations already have a tremendous resource in the form of their existing leaders. By encouraging these leaders to become mentors, they can not only pass along their experience and institutional knowledge, but also help to create a sense of continuity for employees throughout the organization. A succession situation can be far less stressful when everyone has some familiarity with the potential candidates and trusts that they’ve been well-prepared for the role.
From Straight Talk: Understanding Leadership Development Strategy
More often than not, management typically turns to leadership development only when they discover that they are lacking strong leadership candidates. But leadership skills aren’t something that can be activated with a flip of a switch. Leadership development is not a series of motions that an employee passively undergoes.