Building Future Leaders

Leadership is no longer about “climbing the ladder to attain a position of power”. In fact, the concept of power itself is very much decentralized, and will continue to be so in the future. Leaders must thus cultivate a desire and commitment to truly make a difference, by adding incremental value for business success.

?Building Next-Generation Leadership Programs

?Building first-time managers and C-suite executives has become top-priority for HR. No matter how busy you are in the here and now, you’ve got to spend time each day grooming those team members who will lead your company in the future.

1. Identifying leadership

2. Begin a conversation

3. Develop through experiential learning

4. Build in both coaching?and?mentoring

5. Don’t forget the soft skills

?Just as you must look to future customers and revenue streams to grow your business, it’s smart to start building future leaders. Moreover, the basic leadership traits have changed- future leaders must bring to the table a mix of “soft” and “hard” skills-? adaptability, communication, collaboration, inclusion, self-awareness, democratic thinking, vision-building, coaching mindset, tech savvy, and so on.

?Gen Y (born between 1982 and 1995) is technologically savvy, uses social media to stay connected, and is the most well informed generation of all time; however, it is possible for them to become great leaders. In the race to develop Gen Y talent and keep them engaged there are a few things to consider:

?CONFIDENCE: Needless to say, confidence plays a key role in leadership.

FEEDBACK: Feedback is the fuel that keeps the fire going!

MENTORING: ?A successful mentoring program can have lifelong ROI.

?Leadership development modules should focus on helping young professionals understand the larger picture i.e. business strategy and people strategy for both the short term and long term. Exercises that help link the individual purpose to the higher purpose will help young leaders integrate well into their leadership roles.?

?If identified at right time, Gen Y can certainly be coached and mentored into effective leaders for tomorrow. HR and L&D leaders must work together to upskill existing high potentials to lead the business

?Thanks.