The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership; Harvey S. Firestone
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LEADER DEVELOPMENT AS A STRATEGIC ACTIVITY

Importance of Leader Development

When the 21st century rolled in, it brought with it phenomenal technological advances that the world had never before seen. It also brought with it the realization that our country would be facing a potentially severe worker shortage. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 58% of federal supervisory and 42% of non-supervisory employees will be eligible to retire in the year 2010. OPM projects that the federal workforce will lose more than half a million employees over the next five years, the majority through retirement. 1 Research shows that there are not enough young employees entering the workforce to offset the mass exodus or the critical skill sets also leaving.

The federal government is not alone. State and local governments find themselves in a similar situation. The private sector is not immune either. It too faces worker shortages across critical functions in its workforce.

In addition to organizations facing a potential worker shortage and loss of institutional knowledge, free-trade agreements and the internet are removing traditional boundaries and opening up a global market.

It is these forces: worker shortages, loss of institutional knowledge and the impact of globalization — that make it necessary for organizations to think strategically about leader development.

Definition of Leadership and Leader Development

Leadership is defined as "the process by which an individual determines direction, influences a group and directs it toward a specific goal or organizational mission." Leader development is broadly defined as "formal and informal training and professional development programs designed for all management and executive-level employees to assist them in developing the leadership skills and styles required to deal with a variety of situations." 2 (Lockwood 2007).

Leader Development Strategic Connection

What could be more critical to an organization's long-term survival than the selection and development of its future leaders? Yet many organizations devote little time cultivating their leaders. Organizations can ill afford to continue to view leader development solely from the traditional viewpoint of classroom training.

Today, organizations must approach leader development as a strategic activity. With the critical skills and worker shortages, organizations need to retain current employees and recruit new employees for the future. Organizations need to have more than just a list of names of individuals who could replace current leaders. They need to identify and assess key positions, identify and assess high potential employees, identify leadership attributes essential to organizational success, and determine the gaps between skills needed for future direction of the company and current talent.

Research suggests that effective and successful organizations link leader development to their vision, mission and goals. Aligning leader development in this way enhances the agency's chances that it will have the talent it will need to be competitive and successful. Comparing the gap between what leadership skills are present and what the agency needs requires developing strategies to fill the gaps.

Failing to align leader development with organizational vision, mission and goals can prove to be detrimental to the organization. The worst scenario suggests that the agency will not have anyone with the proper skill set to lead the organization. In addition, undeveloped leaders not in sync with the organization's mission may alienate top performers and high potential employees and drive them away.

Linking leader development to an organization's mission, vision and goals enables the agency to identify leadership needs. This allows agencies to develop strategies to effectively use its resources. Resources may include money, people, and a mentoring environment where employees are coached and provided opportunities to develop skills they are missing. Appropriating monetary resources is essential and shows commitment on the part of executive leadership.

Aligning leader development with strategic activities helps foster a performance culture. A performance culture is one in which clear expectations are communicated, employees are held accountable for accomplishing those expectations, and accomplishments are rewarded accordingly.

Rewarding high performance and developing leaders are agency attributes that drive employee commitment. Both attributes are elements of an effective agency's employee value proposition (EVP). Net-Temps defines EVP as the measurement of the balance between what an employee receives from his/her employer in return for his/her performance on the job. 3

Getting Started

Moving forward requires agencies to make a conscious decision to incorporate leader development in their strategic plan. Agencies can begin developing their leader development programs as follows:

  • Revisit the organization's vision, mission and goals. This is key. These three factors set the direction for the agency and act as the basis for determining if the organization is accomplishing what it set out to do.
  • Develop a leader development plan that helps the agency accomplish its goals.
  • Execute the plan. Agencies must move the plan from paper to action.
  • Evaluate the results to determine effectiveness.
  • Review the plan periodically and modify as needed.

Conclusion

Organizations can no longer afford to approach leader development haphazardly or by simply sending employees to a workshop. Leader development is a process and that process requires commitment from senior management. Successful organizations incorporate leader development in their strategic plan. They view leader development as an investment in their future.

references

1 Bob Lavigna and Tim Dirks, "Government's Looming Talent Shortage: Experienced Workers Needed," International Personnel Management Association — HR (IPMA) News, May 200, p. 22.

2 Nancy Lockwood, "The Changing Nature of Leadership," Society for Human Resources Management Briefly Stated, April 30, 2007.

3 Brad Peterson, " Measuring Employee Value," Net-Temps, April 24, 2007.