Mastering the Great Talent Game | Unleashing Future-Ready Leaders in the New Era of Retention

We’re in an era of talent retention and at the same time craving for the need of future-ready leaders. By following several key factors, we can simultaneously support succession in leadership development and boost retention.

In a Rush? Here's a Quick Summary:

• Future-ready leaders are essential to business success, and retaining them requires a strategic approach to leadership development.
• To attract and retain your leaders, you need to provide a supportive environment, create shared accountability, track progress rigorously, cultivate a feedback-rich culture, and recognise and reward achievements.
• Collective learning, which includes diverse perspectives and shared experiences, can significantly enhance the learning experience.
• Implementing these strategies in real-world settings, whilst not a panacea, has so far yielded positive outcomes, and perhaps, a platform for your business to emulate.

Mastering the Great Talent Game | Unleashing Future-Ready Leaders in the New Era of Retention

"Leadership pipelines are a strategic necessity that generate a sustainable and competitive advantage"

A rising trend among businesses involves the in-depth evaluation of leadership behaviours and competencies. However, a gap still remains in many businesses linking these evaluations to individual learning solutions and wider developmental programs, which are designed to augment individual competencies, whilst bolstering the pipeline of future leadership. It’s a tall order, and is now more crucial than ever that businesses focus on leadership development and retention to meet and exceed their short, medium and long-term business plans.

In my opinion, leadership pipelines are a strategic necessity that generate a sustainable and competitive advantage in the current economical climate. A quick read of your local paper, website of choice or insights gleaned from in-person leadership debates will tell you, employee expectations and labor market dynamics are shifting - and they’re shifting rapidly. This means that organisations, your organisation, are striving (or should be striving) to understand their employees current skill sets, crunching the data and then comparing it against future business requirements to meet growth and/or transformation goals.

There is absolutely no room for complacency in assuming that a better replacement will miraculously?emerge when someone exits the business, or that the necessary managers, heads-of, directors and executives will be found as through in-house and agency recruitment as conditions evolve. Dramatic changes in candidate engagement and evolving work preferences are creating a risk of a crippling, and somewhat persistent leadership deficit. It’s therefore pivotal that businesses shift their focus to retention. A crucial aspect of this shift is prioritising the development of current and prospective leaders, focusing on their skills and abilities as a core strategic initiative, which should be prioritised with the same gravitas as any other strategic priority in your business.

This widening gap is sadly all too evident between the leaders in which businesses currently have, and those they need for the future. Don’t be thinking this gap isn't limited to handful of rapidly evolving roles within areas such as technology or more broadly, digital - as examples, it’s also strikingly evident in leadership roles. The fact is good leaders aren’t on the market, they’ve already been hired. The accelerated pace of change and increased expectations for leaders to lead on running ‘business as usual’, whilst adding deep role and sector expertise necessitates a broader and distinct set of skills, knowledge and behaviours than that which was required just a few years ago.?

Over the past 6 months, many of the business leaders I’ve spoken to and beginning or in the midst of systematically assessing their current leadership populations to gain a better understanding of their current state. From measuring competencies to assessing specific behaviours, and in some cases of those further down the line, creating libraries of skills taxonomies - helped in part by having mature Human Capital Management Systems (HCMS), like Workday.?

Whilst many businesses are taking action to assess their leadership using tired and tested solutions, a significant proportion of them are not committing similar efforts to their leadership development, or even have the inclination to link the aforementioned assessments to succession mapping, and promotional decisions.?For those businesses which are connecting the dots, it’s become clear from my discussions with industry peers that many line-managers of those leaders miss the opportunity to create robust development plans post-assessment(s), and worst still, for those that do, they don’t act upon them, so they become stagnant word documents or system updates with minimal follow-through, tracking, or accountability - at which you have to ask yourself, what was the point?

Overcoming Obstacles in Programmatic Leadership Development

"Without top-down support, even the best programmatic development initiatives can falter"

There’s a consistent focus on senior sponsorship, innovation (and in some cases experimentation), coaching, 180 feedback, and ongoing adjustments needed to enable effective leadership development. Mass-enrolled development initiatives do have their place, but to get the best our of those leaders classified as ‘high-potentials’, you need to maximise thier engagement and development outcomes through smaller, more agile cohorts. This in turn will create high performance groups of leaders with stronger identity and purpose towards your business and their development goals.?

However, without top-down support, even the best programmatic development initiatives can falter. Leadership can be learned, honed, and enhanced. But the true power of facilitating your leadership assessments lies in the identification of key strengths that can be more consciously and consistently leveraged for business critical areas of development, aligned with the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed mapped in your future business strategy. The cornerstone for leaders isn't inherent IQ or EQ on their own, but a growth mindset. Leaders who are open to learning, feedback and coaching, driven by curiosity, and adequately supported, can develop new mindsets and skills which will see your business thrive in the years to come.

Bridging the Gap between Business Strategy, assessments and Leadership Expectations

"When planning these bespoke learning pathways, your business should continue its foundational leadership training"

The real value of assessing leaders and potential leaders in your business will only materialise when there is prioritisation and understanding of your current leaders readiness to assume those ‘critical roles’ and apply those knowledge, skills and behaviours required by your business strategy. Equally, completed assessments should also identify individuals with the potential and attributes to play bigger roles and develop further necessary capabilities - tools like Performance and Potential model - aka 9-Box’ can support with this.

Every business will of course differ in its approach, methodology and propriatory models, but one things for certain - first, a strategy must be created on your approach to assessment tools such as competencies, and how that maps specific leadership roles or job families to competencies, be that by executive decision or through more collaborative means such as employee focus groups. Equally if you haven’t already, mapping behaviours to leadership levels is also an incredibly important step to compliment the whole. Next, once you’ve benchmarked your leaders, take time to think about how you’ll approach benchmarking the current capabilities against your businesses future needs - and strategically target your learning and development efforts in those high-priority areas.?

Additionally, by linking assessment data to specific role profiles, your learning solutions and broader programmes become clearer and far more likely to result in tangible and achievable outcomes. A note of experience, when planning these bespoke learning pathways, your business should continue its foundational leadership training, you know, the one applicable across all roles. These should include subjects such as inclusive leadership, leading change, and agile working, etc.

Six Strategies for Leadership Development and Building Future-Ready Cohorts

"If your business isn’t technologically mature, then a Microsoft Excel solution will work just fine"

Below you’ll find six simple strategies to support leadership development and build your next future-ready cohorts.

The six considerations laid out in your text provide a comprehensive plan to initiate and manage effective leadership development programs. These are:

• Foster Leadership Support Systems | Train mentors, coaches, and peers to provide crucial support for growth, both through personal interactions and digital resources.?
• Cultivate Shared Responsibility | Empower leaders to take ownership of their development journey, while fostering a strong support network as described in point 1, to guide and share accountability for progress.
• Monitor Progress with Precision | Track growth and development using clear metrics and milestones. Most Learning Management Systems or HCM’s offer tools like 360-degree feedback to identify areas of improvement and highlight progress. If your business isn’t technologically mature, then a Microsoft Excel solution will work just fine, albeit scalability may become an issue.
• Grow a Feedback Culture | Create an environment which encourages feedback, and enables leaders to gain insights into their strengths and areas needing improvement.
• Acknowledge and Reward Progress | Recognise the dedication involved in leadership development, and provide regular communication to maintain motivation.
• Foster Collective Learning | Promote a culture of shared learning. Encourage collective learning experiences to enhance leadership growth, which in turn will bring diverse perspectives.

Case Study: A Week Intensive Development Program for Potential Leaders

"The unique element of these simulations was the inclusion of real-time feedback from observing L&D facilitators"

A national pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer I partnered with during my days of Business Process Outsourcing decided to introduce a rigorous 1 week development program at their head office in Nottingham. The programme was designed to support the growth of new leaders who had shown high potential for promotion, or that have recently been promoted. This process included comprehensive evaluations such as 360 reviews and psychometric assessments, which were conducted before the programme began.

The central component of this program were 2 workshops within the week, during which the leaders were placed into unfamiliar business scenarios, to test their adaptability and leadership potential. The unique element of these simulations was the inclusion of real-time feedback from observing L&D facilitators, offering immediate insight into each participant's performance.

In addition to the simulations, leaders had the opportunity to share personal experiences and to present their rational to their peers. This allowed them to obtain instantaneous feedback on their style and approach.

Following the event, individual feedback and insights were collated in an end of training report from the various assessments, observations and learning exercises. These insights were then used to craft personalised development plans with clear, actionable and accountable next steps.?

It’s a good example of where short-intensive learning in cohorts is aligned to the strategic objectives of the business and delivers an outcome that challenges, inspires and sets leaders up for success.

Where next?

"Leadership development is not merely a desirable add-on, but a critical differentiator in a competitive marketplace"

The shift to retention is already here and businesses need to invest time, resource and capital to successfully navigate the complexities of an evolving business and sociatal landscape. It’s become increasingly clear that those businesses who invest in thier leaders are prepared for the future, creating invaluable experitise. Leaders are surrounded and empowered with choices, choices they’re likely to make that prioritise their personal and professional growth, so if your business isn’t prepared to make that investment, your leaders in turn are far less likely to invest in you - and will focus on leaving the business, creating a material risk.

The ability to attract and retain aspiring leaders will heavily rely on your businesses dedication in creating a nurturing environment that fosters continual learning and development. As it stands, the talent market is booming, and those businesses that can cultivate a ‘world-class’ development program will likely emerge in a much better place. With that in mind, leadership development is not merely a desirable add-on, but a critical differentiator in a competitive marketplace.

The six simple strategies above provide a simple blueprint for business leaders seeking to create impactful development programs. These are not quick fixes, but key steps to weave development into the core of your business culture. Implemented thoughtfully, they can lead to the formation of robust development programme that can boost both individual performance and also drive collective business success.

Ultimately, the creation of a learning culture starts with recognising that each employee is a potential leader. By investing in their development, businesses not only enhance their capacity for innovation and productivity but also affirm their commitment to their people. This, in turn, fuels employee loyalty, engagement, and satisfaction, creating a positive cycle of growth and success.

In conclusion, the future of work demands a new era of leaders – ones who are agile, adaptive, and equipped to handle change. The onus lies on you and your business to nurture these future-ready leaders, and it begins with reimagining your approach to your leadership development programmes, supported with the combined efforts of organisational development and learning and development working together. Ask yourself, in your business, are you mastering the talent game? And are you doing enough to build leaders of the future, whilst simultaneously creating a platform to nurture, grow and retain talent. If not, the time to act is now!?

I’d love to learn more about your experiences. Connect with me on the following points:

• What challenges have you encountered when attempting to nurture future-ready leaders in your business?
• What are the driving forces that necessitate a shift in your current leadership development strategies?
• How have you implemented the concepts of surrounding and supporting key talent, creating shared accountability, or making learning collective in your development programs?
• Can you share any success stories or lessons learned from deploying these key considerations in your leadership development efforts?
• How are these strategies reshaping the way you approach talent retention and leadership development in your business?