GROW TOMORROW’S LEADERS TODAY
GROW TOMORROW’S LEADERS TODAY
WHAT MAKES A GOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN?
A good development plan:
1. is based on a realistic assessment of current levels of skills and knowledge (competencies). Multiple sources of feedback are very useful here, including the 360° survey. Note, however, that these 360° surveys have to be carefully introduced and supported as they can easily go wrong.
2. is also based on good selfknowledge by the high potential employee of his/her true aspirations and goals. Difficulties in arriving at true aspirations and goals can include:
reluctance to discuss these matters openly with managers;
lack of selfknowledge; and
organisational pressure and expectations.
These issues should not be taken lightly, and finding ways to face up to them and address them should form part of the planning process for leadership development.
3. takes into account important characteristics of jobs that the employee would aspire to as well as organisational realities. Sometimes an organisation may wish to change the profile of people appointed to certain jobs in the future, and these new expectations need to be fully communicated. In the absence of formal company communication, informal communication will occur and may well be inaccurate. With the information technology available today, companies have exciting possibilities to use internal websites to communicate career ladders, job profiles and other career related information.
4. is discussed in an open and honest way with several interested parties, including an immediate manager, HR and functional head at a higher level. One of the highly motivating elements of organisational life for an individual is to see visible commitment of senior people in the organisation to his/her development. Therefore a process which involves senior people in the preparation or validation of the Development Plan can show such commitment.
Many organisations design the process for preparation of Development Plans as part of the performance management system, and allocate the main responsibility to the immediate manager. This is unfortunate in many cases because the high potential employee is very likely to move further up the ladder past his/her immediate manager and therefore a more senior person needs to be involved to understand the real development gaps and to offer a wider perspective on alternative routes to the employee’s career goals
5. has a range of development options which are considered and prioritised. Many line managers will still consider only off-the-job training as content for a Development Plan. Clearly, the range of options is much wider than that and should focus in the first place on onthejob activities such as new and challenging assignments or exposures, and then widen out to include coaching, mentoring, new assignments, training, self study and so forth. Some criteria for prioritising activities should be offered – for example, put a high priority on fairly simple activities that can make a big difference to development
6. uses a sensible time horizon. A one year Development Plan is not very useful for a high potential employee. Firstly, these employees need a longer time horizon to show them that continuing with the company will be worth their while. Secondly, the development planning process usually produces quite a long list of development needs – it does not add to the credibility of the Plan if all the planned activities are scheduled in a short time period when clearly time will not permit all the activities to be completed. A three year Plan seems to strike a reasonable balance.
7. allows for measurable progress. A plan which is not monitored cannot be considered as a credible plan. A high visibility progress review process will demonstrate organisational commitment to the employee. This might include review discussions with the top management team of the company. Activities in the plan should be described in such a way that progress can be tracked and described in a simple way.
BARRIERS TO BUILDING GOOD DEVELOPMENT PLANS
It sometimes seems as if there are far more barriers than enablers to building high quality, credible Development Plans. These might include:
1. Fear of making promises. Many managers view a Development Plan as a promise to promote someone and, quite rightly, fear to commit themselves. However, the emphasis within the plan should be on improving specific behaviours or filling specific knowledge gaps rather than specifying particular moves or promotions
2. Reluctance to create an elite. Some organisations prefer to spread development widely (and therefore thinly) rather than have an “elite” of high potentials. This too often results in too little development of the leaders of tomorrow, leading to decreased retention and increased risk of failure from promotions
3. Culture where honest feedback is rare. Good Development Plans rely on honest assessments of current levels of skills and knowledge and feedback of gaps. Lack of such feedback will result in “window dressing” and wasted resources.
4. Employee reluctance to share real career goals. As discussed above, a way has to be found to really understand the employee’s level of aspiration. If there is no hunger to be promoted, there will be little commitment to the Development Plan.
5. Lack of time. Development takes time, whether it is orientating a person to a new project or assignment or coaching someone in a new skill. Even sitting down and thinking through a good Development Plan takes time. Therefore the business case has to be clear in order to persuade managers to invest time in this process
6. Lack of formal processes and systems. Whilst some managers may be very good at identifying development gaps and helping employees work out a Development Plan, the majority of managers do not have a high level of skill in this area. It is useful therefore to support them with proformas for the Plans, annual timetables, progress review requirements etc as well as some training in the process.
7. Lack of role modelling from the top. If members of the top team do not spend time going through the process of Development Planning and monitoring, it is unlikely that lower levels of management will do this in a sustained fashion.
DEVELOPMENT CULTURE
Some levers can often be found which can be used to promote the building of a sustainable development culture. Places to look for these might be:
1. Existing succession management process. Most organisations have some form of annual succession planning. A new or improved process of Development Planning can be leveraged off this annual event.
2. Existing coaching or mentoring schemes. Such schemes are very popular at present but can sometimes seem to be rather untargeted. The objectives of the coaching or mentoring relationship should be derived from the Development Plan. Research has shown that the clearer the objectives of these relationships, the more concrete the results.
3. Existing executive education schemes. In order to identify real outcomes wanted from attendance at business school events, again such attendance should result from specific development objectives contained in the Development Plan.
4. Existing transfer policies. Some companies encourage people, particularly high potentials, to change jobs often at two or three year intervals. In order to ensure that people do not simply develop the skill of being transferred and settling in quickly, clear development objectives should be set for each assignment (and these should be tracked during and at the end of the assignment). These objectives should be consistent with,
and derived from, the Development Plan.
BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS
A good place to start is to identify those managers within your organisation (at a reasonably senior level) who are good at identifying development needs and putting Development Plans in place. (There will always be some managers who are naturally good at it, and do it, sometimes despite the prevailing culture.) Work with them to design some principles, a format and system which suit your specific aims and culture, taking into account the above elements and issues.
Penny Abbott is an independent HR practitioner with extensive senior experience within organisations both in SA and globally (pennyabbott@mweb.co.za).
Reference 1 Corporate Leadershp Council is a memberfunded organisation which carries out research into people management issues. See www.corporateleadershipcouncil.com.
GROW TOMORROWS LEADERS TODAY - To learn more about this author, visit Alan Hosking's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
And yet, discussions with many leading global organisations who have enviable programmes of leadership development reveal that even these organisations admit that they do not do so well at putting in place good development plans
WHAT MAKES A GOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN?
A good development plan:
1. is based on a realistic assessment of current levels of skills and knowledge (competencies). Multiple sources of feedback are very useful here, including the 360° survey. Note, however, that these 360° surveys have to be carefully introduced and supported as they can easily go wrong.
2. is also based on good selfknowledge by the high potential employee of his/her true aspirations and goals. Difficulties in arriving at true aspirations and goals can include:
reluctance to discuss these matters openly with managers;
lack of selfknowledge; and
organisational pressure and expectations.
These issues should not be taken lightly, and finding ways to face up to them and address them should form part of the planning process for leadership development.
3. takes into account important characteristics of jobs that the employee would aspire to as well as organisational realities. Sometimes an organisation may wish to change the profile of people appointed to certain jobs in the future, and these new expectations need to be fully communicated. In the absence of formal company communication, informal communication will occur and may well be inaccurate. With the information technology available today, companies have exciting possibilities to use internal websites to communicate career ladders, job profiles and other career related information.
4. is discussed in an open and honest way with several interested parties, including an immediate manager, HR and functional head at a higher level. One of the highly motivating elements of organisational life for an individual is to see visible commitment of senior people in the organisation to his/her development. Therefore a process which involves senior people in the preparation or validation of the Development Plan can show such commitment.
Many organisations design the process for preparation of Development Plans as part of the performance management system, and allocate the main responsibility to the immediate manager. This is unfortunate in many cases because the high potential employee is very likely to move further up the ladder past his/her immediate manager and therefore a more senior person needs to be involved to understand the real development gaps and to offer a wider perspective on alternative routes to the employee’s career goals
5. has a range of development options which are considered and prioritised. Many line managers will still consider only off-the-job training as content for a Development Plan. Clearly, the range of options is much wider than that and should focus in the first place on onthejob activities such as new and challenging assignments or exposures, and then widen out to include coaching, mentoring, new assignments, training, self study and so forth. Some criteria for prioritising activities should be offered – for example, put a high priority on fairly simple activities that can make a big difference to development
6. uses a sensible time horizon. A one year Development Plan is not very useful for a high potential employee. Firstly, these employees need a longer time horizon to show them that continuing with the company will be worth their while. Secondly, the development planning process usually produces quite a long list of development needs – it does not add to the credibility of the Plan if all the planned activities are scheduled in a short time period when clearly time will not permit all the activities to be completed. A three year Plan seems to strike a reasonable balance.
7. allows for measurable progress. A plan which is not monitored cannot be considered as a credible plan. A high visibility progress review process will demonstrate organisational commitment to the employee. This might include review discussions with the top management team of the company. Activities in the plan should be described in such a way that progress can be tracked and described in a simple way.
BARRIERS TO BUILDING GOOD DEVELOPMENT PLANS
It sometimes seems as if there are far more barriers than enablers to building high quality, credible Development Plans. These might include:
1. Fear of making promises. Many managers view a Development Plan as a promise to promote someone and, quite rightly, fear to commit themselves. However, the emphasis within the plan should be on improving specific behaviours or filling specific knowledge gaps rather than specifying particular moves or promotions
2. Reluctance to create an elite. Some organisations prefer to spread development widely (and therefore thinly) rather than have an “elite” of high potentials. This too often results in too little development of the leaders of tomorrow, leading to decreased retention and increased risk of failure from promotions
3. Culture where honest feedback is rare. Good Development Plans rely on honest assessments of current levels of skills and knowledge and feedback of gaps. Lack of such feedback will result in “window dressing” and wasted resources.
4. Employee reluctance to share real career goals. As discussed above, a way has to be found to really understand the employee’s level of aspiration. If there is no hunger to be promoted, there will be little commitment to the Development Plan.
5. Lack of time. Development takes time, whether it is orientating a person to a new project or assignment or coaching someone in a new skill. Even sitting down and thinking through a good Development Plan takes time. Therefore the business case has to be clear in order to persuade managers to invest time in this process
6. Lack of formal processes and systems. Whilst some managers may be very good at identifying development gaps and helping employees work out a Development Plan, the majority of managers do not have a high level of skill in this area. It is useful therefore to support them with proformas for the Plans, annual timetables, progress review requirements etc as well as some training in the process.
7. Lack of role modelling from the top. If members of the top team do not spend time going through the process of Development Planning and monitoring, it is unlikely that lower levels of management will do this in a sustained fashion.
DEVELOPMENT CULTURE
Some levers can often be found which can be used to promote the building of a sustainable development culture. Places to look for these might be:
1. Existing succession management process. Most organisations have some form of annual succession planning. A new or improved process of Development Planning can be leveraged off this annual event.
2. Existing coaching or mentoring schemes. Such schemes are very popular at present but can sometimes seem to be rather untargeted. The objectives of the coaching or mentoring relationship should be derived from the Development Plan. Research has shown that the clearer the objectives of these relationships, the more concrete the results.
3. Existing executive education schemes. In order to identify real outcomes wanted from attendance at business school events, again such attendance should result from specific development objectives contained in the Development Plan.
4. Existing transfer policies. Some companies encourage people, particularly high potentials, to change jobs often at two or three year intervals. In order to ensure that people do not simply develop the skill of being transferred and settling in quickly, clear development objectives should be set for each assignment (and these should be tracked during and at the end of the assignment). These objectives should be consistent with,
and derived from, the Development Plan.
BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS
A good place to start is to identify those managers within your organisation (at a reasonably senior level) who are good at identifying development needs and putting Development Plans in place. (There will always be some managers who are naturally good at it, and do it, sometimes despite the prevailing culture.) Work with them to design some principles, a format and system which suit your specific aims and culture, taking into account the above elements and issues.
Penny Abbott is an independent HR practitioner with extensive senior experience within organisations both in SA and globally (pennyabbott@mweb.co.za).
Reference 1 Corporate Leadershp Council is a memberfunded organisation which carries out research into people management issues. See www.corporateleadershipcouncil.com.
GROW TOMORROWS LEADERS TODAY - To learn more about this author, visit Alan Hosking's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
| |||
 |
No article feedback found. | ||
|
Leave Your Feedback | ||
|
|||
 Your Greatest Investment
| |||
| The article "Your Greatest Investment" examines the need for self-growth and personal development as an alternative investment to the traditional financial markets during a recessionary economy. |
|||
|
CEO Speak Out
| |||
| These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|||
|
Attracting Holding Good Trade Show Traffic
| |||
| These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|||
|
Blogging
| |||
| These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|||
|
Ten Characteristics of Leadership
| |||
| These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|||
| |||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Michel NerayMichel Neray has over 25 years of experience as an award-winning copywriter, an Internet pioneer, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. An online pioneer, he was one of the first marketing professionals to embrace the Internet by building websites as early as 1993. In 1994, Michel co-authored a book entitled "The Great Crossover: Personal Confidence in the Age of the Microchip", which made it to Jack Canfield's Achiever's Recommended Reading List. Michel founded Portfolios.com in 1995, the world's first online source directory for creative professionals and one of the first websites based on community generated content. Since creating The Essential Message in 2003, Michel has helped thousands of independent professionals and entrepreneurs as well as growing corporations find a better way to differentiate, position and brand themselves. In 2005, his chapter "Everything Starts With A Conversation" was selected as the lead for the book, "Sales Gurus Speak Out" and re-published in 2008 for 'Awakening The Workplace Volume 3'. He is also a co-author of "In the Company of Leaders" (2008) with 40 top North American leadership experts. - Visit Michel Neray's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
 Alan Hosking (Visit Alan's Website) HR Future is an independent human resource magazine published by Osgard Media as a support to all HR Executives, Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, Financial Directors, HR practitioners and Senior Line Managers who are committed to creating shareholder value through human capital. Our cream of the crop contributors are all dedicated experts in their field providing content to the continent. www.hrfuture.net< /a>
|  |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 |
 Networking To Get Results Instant Press Release Loyalty Strategies Business Success By Design Capture More Clients |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Marketing Blogs of 2009 | |
 |
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009 | |
| ||
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||
