Recognise Young Leaders Early, And Build Them To Last

Search the term “Young Leaders” online and you will find a wide array of articles advocating the importance of grooming young leaders, strategies on how to develop their potential, and even paid programmes promising to deliver empathetic and strong young leaders of the future – which could cost up to several thousand dollars. It is clear that the presence of “young leaders” is important across all industries, and much attention has been given to how an organisation can groom and develop its own pipeline of leaders. A key reason that every team needs young leaders is that they keep the team (and organisation) from being stagnant, complacent and irrelevant.

While young leaders are vital to the long-term success and survival of an organisation, and often the organisation dedicates resources to support them on their leadership journey, the path of becoming and succeeding as a young leader is never easy.

What are some challenges that young leaders face in the workplace? How might they overcome these challenges?

On Opportunities

One of the best ways to develop young leaders is to provide them with opportunities to lead and learn. This is usually done by providing them with stretch assignments with mentors and coaches to guide them through the process. These opportunities give them a chance to acquire new skills, learn from mistakes and continuously improve their abilities. It is a blessing and privilege to not just be given a good opportunity, but also to be presented a favourable set of circumstances for one to learn, contribute and grow.

Opportunities should also be varied and meaningful - not just one stretch assignment on top of another stretch assignment, resulting in quickly fatigued and overworked young leaders. A challenge that many young leaders face is that they struggle to say “no”, particularly to their own leaders, at risk of being seen as incompetent, or worse, not living up to their potential.?

Organisations can curate such opportunities for young leaders, keeping in mind their opportunities to learn and develop. A point of consideration would be to adopt a 70-20-10 ratio, where 70% of the young leader’s time is spend on the job, 20% with coaches or mentors, and 10% formal training for competency skilling. This balances their practical applications with their learning, and provides for a much richer experience.

For the young individuals, seek out opportunities on your own and take charge of your own growth and development. There’s only so much that the organisation can do for you.

On opportunities, be brave and seek your own fortunes.

On Energy and Passion

One of the most prominent characteristics of young leaders is their energy and passion for the work they do. Youths bring with them a sense of energy and enthusiasm that age tends to dull. But this burning passion runs the risk of burning out at a rapid pace, and it is not uncommon to hear concerns of fatigue and burnout among healthcare workers today.

The high risk of burnout – defined by the World Health Organisation as “resulting from chronic workplace stress” – in healthcare workers has been well documented.

A challenge that young leaders face is they do not always recognise signs of burnout – and ?sometimes even considering it as a sign of weakness. Organisations must be aware that young leaders are particularly susceptible to burnout due to their strong desire to achieve more, coupled with their youthful enthusiasm. But fire can only burn for so long before it burns out. Having good support systems, both within the peer and leadership levels ensures that the young leaders’ physical, mental and emotional wellbeing are taken care of for them to produce their best work.

For our young leader, practising self-awareness is key in maintaining our energy and passion. Have you been sprinting in a marathon? Is it time to rest? For to rest is to go even further than you imagined.

On energy and passion, be kind to yourself, know when it is time to rest.?

On Relationships

The heart of leadership is Relationships, who we care for, who we care with, and who we seek care from. At the heart of relationships, is Trust. Good relationships have a strong foundation of trust, while weak relationships are often also lacking in mutual trust.

A challenge for young leaders is that relationships take time and concerted effort to earn, but there are looming deadlines that came with the many opportunities the young leader had earlier said yes to. Often, a young leader becomes too focused on tasks completion, and being intentional about building trust and cultivating relationships are often forgotten or neglected.

How may a young leader build trust? Trust can be broken into four main behaviours that we can ask ourselves:

1. Am I competent?
2. Am I reliable?
3. Am I sincere?
4. Do I care?

By demonstrating these four behaviours (competency, reliability, sincerity and care) consistently, we can start to create, increase and sustain trust - building better and stronger relationships with others. It is vital that the young leader remembers to exhibit these behaviours consistently. Rome was not built in a day and neither can good, meaningful relationships.

For the young leader, connect with others at the competency, reliability, sincerity and care levels. Too often we concern ourselves only with getting the job done, and neglect the people who get the job done together with us.

On relationships, be genuine, take time to build trust and be trustworthy.??

Leadership is a Journey

Ultimately, leadership is a journey - a journey that we do not take alone but we must own the path we pave for ourselves.?A young leader has the privilege of time to learn, grow and cultivate relationships. A young leader also has the shoulders of other leaders who have gone before them to stand on, to see further and dream bigger. While a young leader may face many challenges, and the leadership journey can be tiring, the fruits are sweet, and the future is bright and rewarding.

This article is written by?Vanessa Audris Lim, Manager at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s Organisation Development Office, and is a Management Fellow under TTSH’s Management Fellowship Programme.?She has a keen interest in leadership development and was previously the programme manager for TTSH’s Management Associate Programme and Management Executive Programme.?