How To Design A Great Leadership Development Program: Traits to Look For in Potential Leaders

You have your eye on a couple of people who you think have potential to be your next leaders. Now you need to carefully evaluate them against a few very important measures.

- Does the prospect seem to subscribe to the company's values? If the person's values don't coincide with the organization's, they probably aren't right for any leadership position. They may have potential but probably not in your organization.

- How does this person get along with his or her coworkers? No, being a leader doesn't mean being popular, but someone who doesn't have a relatively good rapport with their peers will probably have a hard time working with anyone.

- Is the person you're considering reliable and trustworthy. You're going to be placing more and more authority and responsibility in their hands. A lack of integrity or reliability will come back to you and can damage your effectiveness and reputation. Also, integrity is very difficult to fix and a problem in that area will probably always be a problem.

Once you think you have your potential leader pegged, you need to do a little testing to see if you have it right. Here are some tests you can do to help determine if a potential leader is really the right choice.

First, get to know as much as possible about the individual. What's their work record? Have there been problems with rules or policies in the past? Are they reliable? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Second, carefully observe them on the job. Be inconspicuous about this as your presence can change behavior. Watch to see how they interact with others. Are they courteous with fellow workers and with their own boss? Human relationship skills are important and in general, people who can't get along with most of the people around them usually don't make very good leaders. Watch for the person who appears to carry a grudge. There may be a good reason and it might be something that can be resolved; but, it might also be a sign of someone who is never happy with anything.

Third, use a small task (a genuine requirement, not something made up) to give the potential leader a chance to show leadership. Don't expect an amazing transformation to happen at this point; just watch to see how they handle the situation. What you're really looking for at this point is how they attempt to accomplish the task.

One final thought on selecting new leaders. You will probably come across people who think they're the next great leader and want you to know it; but who you just don't feel have the kind of potential you're looking for. Don't string them on! I've seen leaders who will let a subordinate think they are in line for the next promotion and use that expectation to entice them to do all manner of difficult or unpleasant tasks. That's not fair and will just cause discontent in the end. Be honest and if they don't measure up to what you're looking for, tell them.

How To Design A Great Leadership Development Program: The Essential Elements

You've decided to create a formal leadership development program and have identified potential future leaders. What elements should the program contain?

A good leadership development program should be designed to develop leaders incrementally. So, start with the basics and work up to more advanced levels. For first-level managers the program should include the following.

1. Getting to know the individual. Leaders who don't really know themselves tend to be less effective than those who do. This isn't meant to be a "getting in touch with your feelings" type of session, but a hard, honest look at each person's strengths and weaknesses.

2. Basic leadership theory. There are many areas to study here, but above all else, I recommend studying motivation theory (Herzberg), needs, (Maslow), and the various theories of leadership styles, especially Situational Leadership (Hersey and Blanchard).

3. Communication. Effective communication is essential. Place emphasis on the differences in communicating as a leader and the importance of listening.

4. Decision making and problem solving. These are two areas that don't get nearly the attention they should in leadership development.

5. Managing change. It usually falls to the lower levels of management to actually implement change.

6. Delegation. Though this is a more advanced topic, the basics of delegation should be understood by all levels of leadership.

In addition, beginning leaders should be introduced to human relations topics such as diversity and dealing with difficult people as well as interacting with unions if necessary. This is just a list of basics and can be expanded.

During this stage of development, much of the information needs to be provided in a seminar or workshop setting; but, don't consider a few hours in a classroom sufficient. Leadership is a hands-on activity. Each of these subjects should include some practical application. For instance, when studying leadership theory, have the new leader evaluate their workers and provide an analysis of where they are on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, or Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership model.

The next level of leadership development should address mid-level leaders. These are leaders who have other leaders who report to them. Their development program should include a more in-depth discussion of the topics above but with emphasis on working with other leaders. Development at this level should involve more projects that reinforce the lessons learned. For instance, a mid-level leader might be assigned a project that addresses a complex issue requiring a multi-faceted solution. This should be something that is a little beyond their normal day-to-day responsibilities. A caution though. Don't make something up. There are probably plenty of real issues that need to be addressed and make-work projects don't show that senior leadership is really devoted to the leader's development. Another important assignment at this level is to select a new leader and act as their coach.

The third level of development is for leaders who are approaching senior or executive levels of leadership. Interestingly, this level requires more training in management functions. While human relations are still important, such things as budgeting, marketing, logistics, and international relationships must be understood. However, and this is important, if leaders at this level have never received the basic leadership training discussed above, then I strongly urge you to include at least some of it in their training. Senior leaders who don't understand basic leadership can do disastrous things!

At this point in designing a leadership development program, it's good to remember the return on investment. It may seem like too much work or expense, but a good program will definitely pay off.