On the leaders of the future

Of course, the talk of the town has been SVB and Credit Suisse. Of the former, I’d say in the UK what an incredible outcome for customers and HSBC. Of the latter, I’d say what a shame to see such an established bank being absorbed into another firm. What both have in common is a lot of worry for the employees of these firms, who have probably had dreadful weekends full of anxiety and who still are concerned about their future. We don’t work with either firm, but their ranks will be swelled with talented people, who will be full of ideas and who understand finance, and so I am sure there will be some incredible businesses built from the chaos. As we all know, banks only exist when confidence is present, and I don’t want to fan the flames of speculation further, which has done more damage to banks than is imaginable. So far, we’ve seen no fallout from either incident, but these incidents can spark a number of unintended events in the real economy, from over-reaction to panic in management teams.?Let’s hope I’m wrong.?

This newsletter focuses on “Leaders of the future”. It’s been well documented that an astonishing number of over 50’s have left the workplace since the pandemic. The are of course many reasons behind this, ranging from long term illness to simple retirement. Indeed, one of the challenges HR teams face in 2023 is creating an environment that is inclusive and inspirational to a multi-generational workforce, which has diverse needs and, often, diverse views on life. However, no matter what the reasons are, a lot of experience and knowledge is leaving the workplace. In my view a worrying amount, and compounding this problem is also the general shortage of workers and, not to be overlooked, that the private sector is often competing with a much-expanded public sector for workers. Companies, though, have to play the hand they’re dealt and not the one they necessarily want. It’s inevitable that many firms will be promoting individuals to their first management or executive role. If nothing else, the pandemic has acted as a reminder that firms need to always be developing their leaders of the future if they want to continue to be successful. If I had a pound for every time a firm said to me in the last 18 months “we’ve really struggled to hire, and so we’ve restructured things, and promoted from within” – well, you know the rest of the expression.

Accepting then that there will be many individuals either in, or about to be appointed to, their first leadership role, what are the key things firms need to do?

Identify the skills needed for the future that your firm will need?

The best way to do this is to gather as much information as you can and to appoint a small committee of differing skills to identify future trends.

Identify the people within the business that are future leaders

With the skills identified in mind, it acts as a starting point for the creation of a future leaders’ programme. Apart from skills, future leaders need to have huge levels of integrity and to embody the values of your firm.

Provide the necessary training

Leaders aren’t really born, as romantic as it may seem, they’re given training and are exposed to situations which allow them to grow. Firms also need to offer and encourage continuous development and to monitor progress.

Provide opportunities to test the theory

All the theory in the world is no substitute for experience. If individuals aren’t given a chance to actually try their skills neither they, or you, will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Understand the power of mentoring

Even those at the pinnacle of their industry often have a mentor. Somebody who they can share frustrations with, who can act as an impartial voice, and who can develop them further. This can be someone internally, externally, or an executive coach.

The post pandemic years have been a good time to build a career, and employers have had to look to colleagues with promise rather than experience to fill gaps in their leadership structure. However, helping to prepare and train leaders of the future is one of the best investments a firm can make. My experience that it’s often very large firms, which have these programmes in place, but SMEs can learn from this and create their own talent.

Year end is always a busy time for many and this year will be particularly frantic, as companies cope with the wild swings we are seeing in the economy caused by the pandemic and war in Ukraine, but I still sense that the general feeling is positive and that there are large amounts of money yet to be deployed.?