The Leadership Gap

Does your organization have a fail-safe leadership development and succession plan firmly in place?

 

According to a recent study by the Deloitte University Press, it is highly likely that your organization is caught in a “leadership gap”.

 

86% of the organizations that were surveyed stated that leadership development and succession planning in fact constituted an “urgent need”. However, only a mere 13% of these organizations held the conviction that their organization was doing an effective job of preparing for their next generation of leaders.

 

The critical challenge that H.R. departments find themselves confronted with is how to address the differing leadership needs throughout the various levels of their organization. In one regard, performance oriented millennial candidates seek a fast track to meaningful leadership roles.

 

On the other hand, mid-level leaders require enhanced opportunities to broaden the scope and depth of their abilities as a precursor to future leadership advancement. When it comes to senior level leaders, it is imperative that your organization maintain a serious commitment to mentoring its younger generation of leadership candidates. Senior leaders must be able to transcend generational diversity while freely sharing their experience and inherent knowledge of the organization, its nuances and potential pitfalls.

 

It is also critical for the senior level and executive leaders to demonstrate their buy-in to the leadership development and succession planning process. This tier of leadership needs to be actively involved and thoroughly engaged in grooming future up and coming leaders.

 

Additionally, your organization must comprehend that succession planning encompasses every level of your organization and extends far beyond its top executives. Attrition, competitor recruitment, injury, health issues and death far out number retirement as a consideration with respect to leadership succession.

 

The retirement or sudden loss of a competent leader not only creates a void, it directly impairs the functionality and continuity of the organization’s leadership dynamic. At the heart of the leadership development and succession planning issue lies the realization that qualified workers will in time succeed their supervisors, who will in turn succeed mid-level managers, who as well will succeed your organization’s senior executives.

 

A crucial key for successive leadership development and succession planning is the cultivation an appropriate mindset on the part of every member of your organization, from the organization’s boardroom to its boiler room.

 

Leadership is clearly the #1 talent issue of organizations globally. Business, industry and government find themselves hard pressed to develop leaders at all levels of their organizations.

 

The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people work, perform and live!

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

The Lack of Readiness

Do you and your organization constantly find that you are scrambling in an attempt to complete projects on schedule or meet other deadlines on time?

 

During my recent attendance at a high profile training event, I had the opportunity to observe a wide variety of people and organizations scrambling to get their act together at the very last minute. In one instance, I watched as the person who was responsible for arranging the catering for a three hour social event received a phone call 45 minutes into the event from the host facility informing him that all of the food which had been contracted for had already been consumed by the attendees.

 

The first thought that popped into my head was my old Boy Scout motto “Be prepared.” Undoubtedly, some valuable lessons resulted from this unsettling experience. It also serves to raise the question… How prepared are you, your organization and your people to meet your responsibilities?

 

Sadly, most organizations and their people simply don’t deal with tomorrow until tomorrow. The problems that occur, the important details that fall through the cracks and the failures that they experience, are invariably due to a lack of readiness.

 

There is a direct relationship between readiness and responsibility. Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated it this way…  “Actions springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”

 

Quite often, what you do (or don’t do) speaks louder than any words that you could ever say. The same is true of your organization and its people. In reality, while you can shoot from the hip and hope to hit something, appropriate action requires advance planning if you are truly going to hit your mark and ultimately obtain the desired result outcome.

 

In the circumstance cited earlier, the failure to properly fact find and plan resulted in a number of undesirable outcomes. Following below are a few of the more obvious and costly outcomes from this situation:

 

The attendees went from being served the good food to having a lengthy break in service, only to eventually receive mediocre substitutes in place of the originally announced menu.

 

Overall event satisfaction by the attendees was diminished in the process, which could ultimately affect registration signups for future events and potential revenue for same.

 

Clearly, the host organization had to endure the embarrassment also resulted.

 

The catering chefs and staff were greatly inconvenienced by having to unexpectedly perform addition work which was not on their schedule for that workday.

 

The host organization lost its ability to negotiate in a timely fashion for these additional services, which resulted in having to pay top price for the extra food preparation and service.

 

As a result, the host organization wound up being considerably over budget due to its short sightedness in planning.

 

Post event organizational meetings to assess “what went wrong and why” resulted in a significant usage of man hours which further resulted in lost productivity.

 

The lesson to be garnered from this circumstance is that there is simply no substitute for thorough planning. Rest assured, that even with proper planning, unanticipated things may still potentially occur. However, rock solid planning will not only better prepare you for a successful outcome, it will help you in identifying potential pitfalls and problems for which you can then develop a contingency plan (which will further assure you a likely successful outcome).

 

In the words of one of my early mentors, “Plan your work… then work your plan.” When you heed this sound advice, you will find yourself, your organization and your people adequately prepared and ready for the responsibilities for which you are collectively and individually accountable.

 

The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people work, perform and live.
 
Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

A Desirable Place To Work

Fortune’s 2014 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for has a perennial favorite at the top of its rankings… Google.

 

In 2007, Business Week cited Google as “a hot stock, but it’s even hotter as a desirable place to work” because of the attention that Google pays to hiring and keeping the best people on board.

 

Google not only views their people as their greatest asset, they reflect this organizational attitude by treating their people as valuable assets. Unfortunately, the vast majority of business, industry and government organizations profess that “Our people are our greatest asset”, yet fail to follow through by demonstrating that it is actually true.

 

The sad truth of the matter is that most employees don’t even get the proverbial pat on the back or hear their boss thank them for a job well done.

 

From a practical perspective, the people at every level of your organization are in reality far more valuable than any piece of equipment, software or robotics will ever be. In like fashion, your people also represent your organization’s highest operational expense.

 

What Google and the other great places to work realize is that their people, like their other physical equipment will break down and fail to perform unless they are properly maintained. This analogy equates directly to the classic industrial expression about production line equipment being “Finely tuned and well oiled”.

 

Vehicles, machinery and computers all require maintenance servicing and repair in order to remain in top working condition and performing at their best. Your people are no different, as they require attitude adjustments, motivation tune-ups and learning opportunities and upgrades.

 

When it comes to your people being your organization’s greatest asset, the pertinent question is whether your organization is actually walking its talk. The litmus test rests with your organization’s commitment to elevate talent retention, team building and leadership development to the level of being a strategic priority.

 

There isn’t any fudge factor on these issues, as the answer should be just as obvious to your organization as it is to your people. Following below are some clear warning signs that your organization may not stand up to greatest asset litmus test:

 

HR has the wrong priority. The classic analogy that you can’t chase two rabbits lies at the heart of the functional purpose of HR in your organization. It is impossible to develop talent while elevating people and productivity if your organization is managing HR as a finance function. If your organization holds the attitude that salaries and benefits are a cost (not an investment in talent/people) that equates to attaching a vacuum hose to your bottom line, you’re not walking your talk.

 

Recruiting isn’t about talent. Is your organization processing job candidates like a cattle auction processes livestock, rather than earnest identifying key individuals that could be valued contributors to your organization? If your recruiting unit is a black hole where qualified resumes never see the light of day, you’re walking the wrong talk.

 

The HR executive is a second-class leader. If your organization truly values talent, then your HR leader will be esteemed and operate at the same level as the rest of the executive leadership team.

 

HR is a cost cutting monitor. If your organization’s primary HR function is cost control, then it is operating as an extension of your finance unit. You can’t be dedicated to acquiring and managing talent, if you’re focused on shaving nickels and dimes from your benefit program premiums.

 

Critical people functions are outsourced. If your “greatest assets” have to address their employee issues to a disconnected and dispassionate overseas entity, your organization is expressing a lack of value and appreciation for its people. Your people will find it unsettling to open up with a stranger that is half way around the world about sensitive job issues. Talented people will feel devalued, become demotivated and seek better opportunities elsewhere.

 

Your Operation Isn’t Unified. Many organizations have adopted the practice of having a separate organizational development group to for the creation of the organization’s culture and leadership strength. A worthy HR executive would never allow the critical loss of leadership development, mentoring, succession planning and performance management to be removed and reassigned to an independent OD group. The purpose of HR is to recruit talent, develop said talent and ultimately put a winning team on the field every business day.

 

If your organization is exhibiting any of these warning signs, then you’ve got some urgent work to do before you retake the “Our People Are Our Greatest Asset” litmus test. Your organization should also realize that any of these warning signs are also preventing you from winning the marketplace competition to acquire the best and brightest talent.

 

The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people work, perform and live!

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

Myth Buster: Time Management

Regardless of the conflicting day-to-day reports about the economic recovery, there is one particular fact that remains crystal clear… Organizations and people are still in the position of “having to do more with less”.

 

However, most organizations and people continue to struggle with one specific issue that would actually help them to be more productive and ultimately do more with less.

 

The critical issue that I am referring to is the issue of properly allocating your “time”. When it comes to the concept of time and how to properly utilize it, there are 5 critical points that you need to fully comprehend with regard to your “time”:

 

• Time is not something to be “managed”.

 

• Time is a “tool”.

 

• Time is actually a “priority” clarification issue.

 

• Time is entirely about what you do with it.

 

• Time and productivity are forever linked and are therefore inseparable.

 

As of cited by President John F. Kennedy, “We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch.”

 

Following below are 7 key tips that will assist you in better prioritizing your time utilization:

 

Tip #1:  Change your mindset. Get real about the fact that you will never ever “Have time to kill”. Every minute and every moment matter.

 

Tip #2:  Don’t wait for tomorrow… To plan for tomorrow.

 

Tip #3:  Schedule your top priorities first. Focus your time on what is most important, rather on what is most convenient.

 

Tip #4:  Schedule all of your remaining tasks to fit with the remaining time you have available (after addressing your top priorities).

 

Tip #5:  Make it a point to know what your time is “worth”. Once you know, how you “value” your time will dramatically change.

 

Tip #6: Identify your top personal “time wasters”.

 

Tip #7: Identify your top “time wasters” and “interference” from external sources.

 

When you apply these practical tips to your personal and professional life, you will begin to accomplish more with less while becoming more productive than ever before!

 

The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people work, perform and live.

 

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

The Truth About Leadership

Leadership is a critically important responsibility for every member of every organization. Whether you are leading an army, a team, an organization or merely yourself, the elements of leadership “responsibility” are congruent and consistent.

 

In spite of the inaccurate assertion which is often bantered about, authentic leaders are developed, not born. You need only consider someone that you believe to be a great leader and then identify exactly what it is that makes them a great leader. What are the attributes, characteristics and qualities that you clearly see in this leader?

 

Upon closer examination, you will quickly come to the realization that every one of the characteristics which you identified can in fact be “developed”. If you view these same characteristics from another perspective, you will also observe that each of these characteristics are related to “attitudes”.

 

Given that each individual is unique in the cosmos and has been gifted with differing talents, abilities and temperaments, they simply won’t get very far in life or business if they don’t properly develop the talents and abilities with which they have been endowed. As well, the same principle holds true for your organization.

 

Many a person who was labeled as a natural talent, the next super star or a born leader have been surpassed time and time again by individuals who had a lesser degree of ability. The critical difference is that these individuals made the conscious choice to make the absolute best of what ability they did possess, fully develop their potential and then proceed to out work everyone else.

 

The point that I am making is this… That even the most gifted leader, at any level, will not reach his or her “optimal” capacity as an authentic leader unless they intently focus their attention toward the development of their strengths and the shoring up of their weaknesses. Both of these actions are essential to your quest to develop forward individually and organizationally.

 

If you, your people and your organization are going to become worth more tomorrow than you were yesterday, then the process of enriching your personal, professional and organizational “value” must be on purpose.

 

In the respective arenas of business, industry, government and life… You must invariably become a competent leader of self as a prerequisite to becoming a formal leader of others.

 

The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people work, perform and live.

 

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

Achieving Your Organization's Best

In his groundbreaking work “Think and Grow Rich”, Napoleon Hill stated that “what ever the mind can believe… it can achieve”.

There are many lessons to be gleaned from Napoleon Hill’s straight forward perspective. True reality is that from where ever you are at this very moment, you can travel to any place in the world. The only prerequisites that are required is having the “want” to and the “belief” that you can.

The same holds true for your organization and every other aspect of life. Simply stated, you can not achieve a single thing unless you first believe that is genuinely possible. Moreover, you must also hold the earnest belief that you, your organization and your people have the talent, skills and capability to achieve the objectives and goals that will take the organization where it wants to go.

This is the very essence of what “potential” really is. Your organization’s vision and mission represent the mental picture of what the organization has the potential to become. As individuals, your people have dreams and goals that they want to achieve in life which are in like fashion how they view their personal potential to grow and achieve.

Perhaps no single individual personifies their belief in what was possible and what they were capable of achieving than Thomas Edison who quipped that he had found over 2,000 ways how to not make a light bulb. Clearly, Edison’s belief was well founded and remained undeterred. While Thomas Edison predated Napoleon Hill, as the expression goes “great minds think alike”.

Thomas Edison also observed “If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves.” Yet, depending on which research report you read, human beings on average only utilize a maximum of 10 percent of the actual potential.

As I so often point out… your organization and your people have both the capacity and the very real need to accomplish more and become more than they presently are.

All too sadly, the human species has allowed its creature comforts, pleasures of modern life and its constant craving for entertainment to result in a stagnant state of complacency that now prevents the vast majority of people and organizations from stretching themselves to new heights of achievement. 

Cartoonist Charles Schultz was a master at assessing human behavior and then depicting it with a touch of humor in his Peanuts comic strip. In one of his more serious moments he observed that “Life is a 10 speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use.”

If your organization is ever going kick it in gear and advance to the next level of its potential, then you are also going to have to believe for the “best” your organization and your people have to give on a daily basis.

Performing at your best requires that you live up to your true potential as an organization, as a team and as individuals. This means having a clear picture of what your organization and people can and want to become.

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

2014 Your Best Year Ever

2013 is in the history books and whether it turned out good, bad or mediocre, your results are official. And although the New Year is barely a week old, many people’s wishes for the New Year (resolutions) have already veered of course and into a ditch alongside the road of life.

No need to worry… there are still 51 weeks remaining to make 2014 your best year ever! The all important question is what will it take for you to be able to state on December 31, 2014 that “this was my best year ever?”

» What exactly would have to happen?

» What would have to change?

» What will constitute real success for you?

The question that I am really asking you is this… How do you define personal success on your own terms? If you find yourself struggling to come up with a clear definitive answer, the first thing that you need to know is that you are not alone. The vast majority of people worldwide don’t actually know what it is that they want for their lives or what they want to happen in their lives. This accounts for the very reason why 95% of all people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions. It is this same lack of clarity about what they want the sets them up for the trap “when this or that happens” I will be happy > I will have arrived > I will be successful.

However, the temporal rush of the new luxury car, tropical vacation or dream home soon wanes. People then find themselves all too quickly back in search mode for the next great thing that is destined to make them feel fulfilled this time.

Unfortunately, it just never quite works out for them. The reason is that true success does not equate with the outdated bumper sticker that says “He or she with the most toys wins”. Authentic success is something far more than the accumulation of “stuff”.

The key to defining what success is centers on your ability to determine what it is that you want out of life and why it will provide real meaning and value to your life.

As for your own New Year’s resolution, if you haven’t fallen off of the horse yet… that’s great. The thing you need to be crystal clear about is that you are not going to accomplish what ever your resolution is solely on the basis of your own will power. It simply doesn’t work that way.

Whether it’s simply this year’s resolution or something more substantial such as making 2014 your best year ever, the truth of the matter is that you are going to need an actual “plan”. Even if you claim to know how you are going to do it, the facts and statistics are clear that the general ideas rolling around inside of your cranium aren’t going to get the job done. More than likely those thoughts and ideas are a bit fuzzy and won’t provide you with a decisive course of action that will result in eventual achievement.

Real success at any level requires a roadmap to follow in order to get to your eventual destination. For instance, if you lived in New York City you couldn’t just jump in your car, start it up, put the transmission in gear and drive to Los Angeles without a roadmap. And just in case you have a lot of stuff including a GPS, your global positioning system is nothing more than a computer driven interactive “roadmap”.

Success is out there for the taking… If you are willing to do what it takes. So decide what you want for your life this coming year, make a concrete plan on how to get it and obtain what ever help you need to assure your success. When you do, you’ll be able to say that 2014 was your best year ever!

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.