Developing a Leadership Strategy A Critical Ingredient for

WHITE PAPER

Developing a Leadership Strategy

A Critical Ingredient for Organizational Success

By: William Pasmore

Introduction 1

What is a Leadership Strategy? 2

Creating the Leadership Strategy 3

Creating the Leadership Development Strategy 17

Implications for Talent Acquisition, Talent 21

Sustainability and Leadership Practices

Getting Results and Building the Talent 24

Your Organization Needs

Conclusion 25

References 25

About the Author 25

Contents

Introduction

Organizations depend upon capable leader-

ship to guide them through unprecedented

changes. Yet, there is ample evidence in

the news and in recent research reports

that even some of the best and most vener-

able organizations are failing to adapt to

change, implement their strategic plans

successfully or prepare for a more uncer-

tain future. We believe the turmoil we

are currently observing has something to

do with leadership, and that if we don’t

change our current approach to leadership

development, we will see even more of the

same.

As well-known companies disappear or

are taken over (think of Lucent, Chrysler,

Lehman Brothers, Northern Rock, Merrill

Lynch) and new forces like the economies

of China and India rise, surveys of CEOs

show that they believe the one factor that

will determine their fate is the quality of

their leadership talent. Yet many top execu-

tives bemoan the lack of leadership bench

strength in their companies and wonder

what will happen once the baby-boomer

generation of leaders nally steps aside.

Can we count on the next generation of

leaders to step up once they are in posi-

tion? Or are we seeing evidence of a talent

gap that cannot be closed and will result

in even greater numbers of high-prole

failures? What can your organization do to

avoid the risks associated with inadequate

leadership and better prepare its current

and future leaders for changes that are

yet unforeseen?

Every leader is aware of the value of a well-

dened business strategy. Few, however,

give thought to the leadership that will be

required to implement strategies that call

for changes in the direction or capabilities

of the organization. Without proper leader-

ship, even the best and boldest strategies

die on the vine, their potential never real-

ized. This paper denes what a leadership

strategy is and how to go about creating

one for your organization that will forever

change the way you develop leaders and

create new leadership capabilities.

What is a Leadership Strategy?

In order to understand what a leader-

ship strategy is, we rst have to be clear

about what we mean by leadership. The

Center for Creative Leadership has been

studying leaders and leadership for near-

ly 40 years and has recently come to an

important conclusion: leadership begins

with individuals in leadership positions,

but it doesn’t end there.

The ability of an

organization to accomplish its goals does

not depend solely on the force of will of

a single great leader, or even upon the

eectiveness of the organization’s chain

of command. These things are important,

but don’t in and of themselves help us

understand why some organizations suc-

ceed where others fail.

Instead, research has shown, we must

understand leadership culture, as de-

ned by the collective actions of formal

and informal leaders acting together to

inuence organizational success. It is not

simply the number or quality of indi-

vidual leaders that determines organiza-

tional success, but the ability of formal

and informal leaders to pull together in

the support of organizational goals that

ultimately makes the dierence. Thus,

when we speak about leadership here,

it is both the leaders themselves and

the relationships among them to which

we refer. At various times, the idea that

leadership is greater than the individual

leader has been referred to as interde-

pendent, boundaryless, collective or

connected leadership.

In more robust denitions, leadership in-

cludes both formal and informal leaders.

Observations of actual organizations in

action are rarely as neat and tidy as their

organization charts would suggest.

Communication, inu-

ence and collaboration

are occurring up, down

and across the organi-

zation, almost as if the

organization chart didn’t

exist, as revealed by the

work of various people

on mapping informal

networks within

organizations.

To ignore this reality in any discussion of

leadership is to miss the point of what is

really going on and what must be under-

stood and managed if strategies are to

be implemented successfully.

Thus, when we describe

the leadership of an

organization, at a minimum

we should consider:

A The quantity of leaders needed, as indicated

by current and projected formal leadership

positions depicted on an organization chart

(number, level, location, function, business

unit, reporting relationships, etc.)

B The qualities desired in selection (demo-

graphics, diversity, background, experience

level)

C The skills and behavior that are needed to

implement the business strategy and create

the desired culture (skills, competencies,

knowledge base)

D The collective leadership capabilities of

leaders acting together in groups and across

boundaries to implement strategies, solve

problems, respond to threats, adapt to

change, support innovation, etc.

E The desired leadership culture, including

the leadership practices in use, such as col-

laboration across boundaries, engagement

of employees, accepting responsibility for

outcomes, creating opportunities for others

to lead, developing other leaders, learning

how to learn, etc.

In much of the work on talent and leadership bench

strength, the focus has been on only the rst two of these

ways of describing an organization’s leadership. By leav-

ing out connected leadership and leadership culture, we

have overlooked what makes leadership come alive in

organizations and the factors that often determine wheth-

er strategies and plans will actually be achieved.

A good leadership strategy takes all of these factors into

account. Simply having all of the leadership positions on

the organization chart lled will not produce the leader-

ship that is required to implement strategies, adapt to

change, support innovation or other important organiza-

tional agendas. It is not just having the right number of

bodies, it is what those bodies do and how they relate to

one another that matters.

A leadership strategy makes explic-

it how many leaders we need, of

what kind, where, with what skills,

and behaving in what fashion indi-

vidually and collectively to achieve

the total success we seek.

Very few organizations have an explicit leadership strat-

egy. Is it any wonder that without one, CEOs nd that they

don’t have the leadership talent they require?

Like business strategies, leadership strategies are

based on a thorough analysis of the current situation

and an informed view of the future. The strategy then

provides a series of recommendations to close the gap

between the current situation and desired future. Once

the leadership strategy is known, a leadership develop-

ment strategy can be formulated to produce the desired

future state, and implications for talent management

processes can be identied. When the strategy is imple-

mented, business results will provide feedback on how

well the leadership strategy is working and help shape

what new business strategies can be considered with

the leadership talent that has been developed.

A. Quantity: How many leaders will be needed over the next 5–10

years, taking into account growth needs and projected turnover

1. When

2. Where

3. At what level

B. Qualities: The characteristics individual leaders and leaders

overall should possess when selected or retained, such as:

The leadership strategy should be driven by

the business strategy and specify:

1. Demographics

a. Age

b. Gender

c. Race

d. Culture of origin

e. Education

f. Experience

2. Internal promotions versus

external hires

3. Diversity, targeted diversity

a. Level

b. Location

C. Skills/Behaviors: The specic skills, behaviors, knowledge,

competencies or abilities leaders need by function, level, location

or unit to implement the business strategy

D. Collective Capabilities: The capabilities that are required of leaders

when acting together, such as:

E. Leadership Culture: The key attributes of the culture created by leaders

through the way in which they lead

1. Generic behavioral competencies that

apply to all leaders in the organization

2. Specic behavioral competencies by

level or function

3. Generic skills and knowledge required

by all leaders in the organization

4. Skills or knowledge required by level

or function

5. Skills, knowledge or capabilities

by location

6. Language capabilities

1. Providing direction, demonstrating

alignment and generating commitment

as a collective leadership team

2. Solving problems or making improve-

ments eciently and eectively that

require collaboration across internal or

external boundaries

3. Engaging employees in decision

making and to gain their active

support in implementing planned

cross-functional actions

4. Jointly formulating strategies and ex-

ecuting them in a coordinated fashion

5. Implementing successful innovation

requiring cross-functional collaboration

6. Adapting to change in a cohesive and

coherent manner

7. Working together to grow the business

in new markets

8. Ensuring compliance/transparency

requiring a consistent set of values, be-

liefs and actions across the enterprise

9. Being responsive to customers in ways

that demand cross-unit coordination

10. Developing talent on behalf of the

enterprise, rather than for individual

units

1. Degree of dependence, independence

or interdependence among leaders

2. Key values that are reinforced through

the collective behavior and actions of

leaders

3. The leadership style exhibited by the

majority of leaders (control-oriented,

laissez faire, participative)

4. The leadership practices that are both

important and shared across the enter-

prise (engaging employees, accepting

responsibility, embracing opportunities

to make improvements, being custom-

er focused and so forth)

Once the leadership strategy is formulated, a leadership development strategy can be drafted.

It claries how the leadership strategy will be accomplished, explores the implications for talent

management systems and processes, and outlines an approach to leadership development.

Creating the Leadership Strategy

The rst step in formulating the leadership

strategy is to review the business strategy

for implications for new leadership require-

ments. This analysis usually requires a team of

experts composed of some people who know

the business intimately and others who are

familiar with processes for acquiring, retaining

and developing leadership talent. Beginning

with the business strategy, the rst step is to

identify the drivers of the strategy. Drivers are

the key choices that leaders make about how

to position the organization to take advantage

of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats in the marketplace. They are the things

that make a strategy unique to one organiza-

tion as compared to another and dictate where

tradeos will be made between alternative

investments of resources, time and energy. Driv-

ers are few in number and help us understand

what it is absolutely essential for leaders and

the collective leadership of the organization to

accomplish.

The reason why identifying key drivers is

important in constructing the leadership

strategy is because dicult choices will

ultimately need to be made about where to

invest money in leaders and their develop-

ment. Particularly as budgets for leadership

headcount and development tighten, it is more

critical than ever to demonstrate a clear line of

sight between investments in leadership and de-

sired organizational outcomes, such as growth,

protability, talent retention and other metrics

that are of key importance to top-level decision

makers who control leadership development

spending.

Key drivers of the business are:

• Therelativelyfew(e.g.,3-5)determinantsofsustainablecompetitiveadvantagefora

particular organization in a particular industry.

• Alsoknownas“keysuccessfactors,”“keyvaluepropositions,”criticalsuccessfactors,etc.

• Present-andfuture-oriented.Ascustomersandcompetitorschange,arethekeystrategic

drivers still relevant?

Note that key drivers are not in themselves

detailed strategies; instead, they are the

key decisions leaders are making about

what the organization must do. For exam-

ple, in some markets, like the restaurant

industry, making certain that customers

are satised may be chosen as a key driver

of success. In other industries, like utilities,

customer satisfaction may not be a key

driver. A key driver in the utility industry

might be nding long-term sources of com-

petitively priced raw materials to turn into

electric power. Customer satisfaction and

low-priced raw materials are not complete

business strategies; instead, they drive the

formulation of detailed business strategies.

The restaurant owner must develop strate-

gies for producing high levels of customer

satisfaction, and the utility company must

develop strategies for securing low-cost

raw materials.

Key drivers can be identied by asking a few

fundamental questions:

• Isthisanorganizationalcapabilitythatisabsolutelyvital?Couldsomethingelsebemore

essential in causing the vision/mission to happen?

• Denedrelatively,whatismostimportanttocompetitivesuccessandmissioncompletion?

• Isthissomethingthattheorganizationispositionedtodobetterthanitscompetitors?

• Willdoingthiswelltranslatedirectlyintocontinuedorfuturesuccess?

• Wouldnotdoingthiswellcausetheorganizationtofail?

Becoming More Global

Becoming More Innovative

Becoming More

Customer-Focused

Investing in High-Growth

Opportunities

Improving Operating

Efficiency

• Requirementforgreaterculturalsensitivityamongleaders

• Enhancedrepresentationofdifferentgeographiesattoplevels

• Enhancedlanguageskillsinkeyleadershiprolestoenable

cross-cultural relationship building

• Enhancedimportanceofforeignassignmentsforfutureleaders

• Greaterunderstandingoflocallawsandbusinessarrangements

 instrategymaking

• Greaterinterdependenceamongleaderstocreatemore

 effectivecollaborationacrossfunctionsinbringingnew

 productstomarket

• Needtoincreaseleadershipinvolvementacrossfunctionsin

gathering consumer insights and translating these into profitable

 ideasfornewproducts

• Mustanticipatecapital,space,talentimplicationsofrapidly

expanding product portfolio

• Needculturalchangetocreateaspiritofinnovationversusa

 cultureofriskaversionattoplevelsoftheorganization

• Needtodevelopandimplementnewprocessesfor

understanding customer experiences and translating them

into improved business practices

• Mustcreatesolidlinkagesacrosstheorganizationatall

customer touch points, so that the customer experiences a

seamless relationship

• Needtounderstandtheneedsofdifferentcustomersegments

and move beyond “one size fits all” approach

• Mustinstillacultureofcustomerprimacyandcustomercare

• Rapidgrowthrequiresattentiontotalentdevelopment;

must accelerate the acquisition and development of talent

 forkeyrolestoavoidtalentbecomingtheconstraintto

 continuedgrowth

• Mustgrownumberofleadersateverylevelby10%peryear

over next three years

• MustintroduceSix-Sigma,leanmanufacturingandother

 methodstobringcostsintolinewithkeycompetitors;

these must be led from the top and supported by leaders

at every level

• Mustcreateacultureofcontinuousimprovementthatisled

authentically by those in leadership positions

KEY DRIVER LEADERSHIP STRATEGY IMPLICATIONS

In reality, the leadership strategy implications

would be much more specic, reecting the actual

opportunities and issues surrounding the key driv-

ers. The key drivers and their associated business

strategies should have clear implications for what

leaders must do well in order for the organization

to succeed. Ultimately, leadership development

activities should be designed to ensure that indi-

vidual leaders and the collective leadership of the

organization are prepared to implement the most

important strategies related to the key drivers.

After the high-level implications for the leader-

ship strategy have been identied, the next step

in developing the leadership strategy is to assess

the current leadership situation and compare it to

the desired future. This is the step that requires the

most“heavylifting”intermsofassessmentand

data collection, covering a wide range of variables

that will aect decisions regarding both the lead-

ership strategy and the leadership development

strategy to follow.

A sampling of the methods that may be used to collect the current-state information

needed in each category is listed in the table on page 10.

Quantity

Qualities

Skill/Behaviors

Collective Capabilities

Leadership Culture

• Workforceplanning

• HRISdata

• Scenariobuilding

• Assessmentcenters

• Leadershipstyleassessment/personalityprofiles

• Talentmanagementforms/reviewsessions

• HRISdata

• Careerprofiles

• Abilitytesting

• HRISdata

• Surveys/interviews

• Competencyidentificationandassessment

• Focusgroups

• Observation

• Interviews

• Documentanalysis

• Cultureassessmentsurveys

• Employeesurveys

• Observation

• FocusgroupsInterviews

• Documentanalysis

DIMENSION METHODOLOGIES FOR DATA COLLECTION

The data from these analyses are used to identify gaps between the current and future

states of leadership in the organization, which provides focus for the priorities to be ad-

dressed in the leadership strategy. A simplied example of the gap analysis that should

be performed is shown below.

IMPLICATIONS OF GAP

FOR LEADERSHIP STRATEGY

Quantity of Leaders

by Level

Location of Leaders

Qualities of Leaders

Location of Leaders

Skills/Behaviors of

Leaders: Key

Competencies

Required by Strategy

LEADERSHIP DIMENSION ANALYSIS

Significant increases at

levels2&3willrequire

accelerated internal

development,aswellas

external recruitment or

acquisitions.

NAgrowthwillslow,

although promotions

willcontinuedueto

turnover. Significant

increasesinEMEAand

especially APAC.

Retirement of boomers

willcreateneedto

accelerate development

of their replacements

from a much younger

pool;newhireswillbe

youngeraswell.

Mustmakeaggressive

effort to hire, develop

andretainwomento

reach20%+goal.

Need for dramatic

change;some

maynotmakethe

shift;needtobe

prepared for this.

Level 1

Year 1

Level 2

Year 2

EMEA

Level 3

APAC

500

400

300

200

100

20–30 31–41 41–51 51+

Future Current

Age

450

300

450

585

500

125

1125

150

750

250

Year 1

Female

Year 1

Female

Year 1

Year 5

Male

Year 5

Male

Year 5

Competency

Operational Efficiency

Cost Reduction

Risk Avoidance

Innovation

Adaptation to Change

Talent Development

1 2 3 4 5

Future Current

IMPLICATIONS OF GAP

FOR LEADERSHIP STRATEGY

Skills/Behaviors

Required by Leaders

in Asia, Africa and

Latin America

Collective Capabilities

Required by Strategy

Leadership Culture

LEADERSHIP DIMENSION ANALYSIS

•Mostlyex-pats

•Fewwithlanguagesorcultural

backgroundsrequiredtocreate

business relationships

•Localknowledgeandrelationships

•Languageskills

•Knowledgeoflocalregulations

•Intimateknowledge

of local customers

•Meetplanningdeadlines

•Upholdcompanypolicies

•Maintainproductquality

•Successfulinnovationsto

marketquickly

•Better/fastercoordinated

response to global customers

•Talentdevelopment

across functions

•Mixofdependentand

independent cultures

•Difficultyincoordinating

product introductions or policy

implementation across functions

and regions

•Muchmoreinterdependent

culture across functions and

regions to enable more effective

global operations, support more

rapid innovation and support

customer responsiveness

Change mix of leaders

in region through hiring

and accelerated internal

development;make

certain their voice is

heardatHQaswell.

Behaviorsarenewand

willrequireattention

to issues that arise as

peoplelearntowork

together differently.

Senior leaders must

engage others in

changing leadership

culturethroughwork

on strategic initiatives.

Current

Future

Again, this is a highly simplied example of the

implications for leadership that should be extract-

ed from the business strategy when future lead-

ership capabilities are compared to what exists

today. Once these implications are extracted and

conrmed through presentation and discussion

with the executive team, the right-hand column of

the gap analysis table needs to be addressed. The

leadership strategy summarizes actions that must

be taken to close the gaps. The leadership devel-

opment strategy will then follow with specic rec-

ommendations regarding approaches to be taken

to develop current and future leaders, as well as

the collective capabilities of the organization’s

leadership, in line with the leadership strategy.

The gap analysis also produces clear implications

for recruiting, selection and other talent manage-

ment systems, policies and processes.

An example of a leadership strategy is provided

below. (Actual strategies would be much more

detailed and specic regarding each leadership

dimension.) The strategy may also include specic

target dates for each action, who is responsible,

barriers to success, costs and implications for

leadership development or talent management

processes.

Developing the strategy is usually an iterative pro-

cess involving a team assembled for that purpose

that reports regularly to an executive team or to

a steering committee providing oversight. Just as

with talent reviews, the process of creating a lead-

ership strategy produces useful conversations that

may have never taken place before. Those con-

versations themselves may act as interventions

that begin shifting beliefs and values concerning

executive talent issues in the organization.

The creation of the strategy is a mix of logic and

art, involving both left brain and right brain work.

While determining the number of leaders required

is often a straightforward extrapolation of growth

targets using workforce planning methods, den-

ing the desired leadership culture is a much more

non-linear process.

How much will it cost to implement your

company’s leadership strategy?

While a precise formula does not exist for translating the leadership strategy into the budget

and time required to accomplish each objective, the leadership strategy does provide a compel-

ling basis for justifying such investments because of its clear link to the business strategy. Even

though comparisons across organizations, industries and geographies are dicult, studies by

ASTD

and Training Magazine

in the U.S. market showed a consistent average expenditure of

around $1200 per employee, or between two and three percent of payroll for all training and

development activities. Expenditures on executive development are typically higher, as are

expenditures in industries or companies facing highly competitive or rapidly changing business

environments, and in companies that receive awards for their development practices.

There are a variety of methods that can help.

Oneway,calledthe“futureperfect”method,

involves“projecting”oneselfintothefutureand

imagining what the leadership culture would be

like if the organization were fully implementing

its business strategy and operating as eectively

as possible. What behaviors among leaders

would one observe? What shared beliefs would

be held by all leaders that support and reinforce

those behaviors? What things would employees,

customers or other stakeholders be saying about

leadership in general? What behaviors would be

visible and reinforce the kind of culture that is

desired? What behaviors would be called out as

indicativeof“goodleadership”andrewarded

accordingly? Whatever methods are used to

dene the desired culture, the denition will

requirethatleadershipstrategists“getcomfort-

able”withtheemotionalsideofleadership.

Many books have been written about emotional

intelligence as an important element in eective

leadership, and CCL has long been an advocate

of using feedback, simulations and other expe-

riential methods to help leaders understand the

impact of their behaviors on others.

In creating a leadership strategy, fail-

ing to be as detailed as possible in

describing the leadership culture that

is required to implement the business

strategy will lead to oversights later in

the process that erode strategy imple-

mentation and interfere with eective

performance.

For example, if collaboration across boundaries

is not called out clearly as a requirement in the

new leadership culture, strategies that depend

upon inter-unit or cross-functional collaboration

are likely to run into sti resistance from lead-

ers who place more emphasis on optimizing the

results in their own area than on helping the

enterprise to succeed. Once again, it’s not how

many leaders are in place; it’s what they actually

do that determines whether the organization

succeeds or fails.

Quantities

Qualities

Skills/Behaviors

Increase number of

leaders from under

600todayto900+

DoubleEMEAleaders

from 75 today to 150

GrowAPACleadersby

5X, from 50 to 250

Increase proportion of

leaders under age 50 in

top three levels

Increase percentage of

femaleleadersto20+at

all levels

Increase abilities to

innovate, adapt to change,

developtalent,take

reasonablerisks,whilenot

sacrificing operational effi-

ciency or the focus on cost

reduction opportunities

Develop regional business

acumen

LEADERSHIP

DIMENSION

KEY

STRATEGIES

60%ofgrowthfrom

internal promotion

40%ofgrowththrough

external hiring

APACgrowthwillrequire

an acquisition since local

marketforleadersisex-

tremelycompetitive60%

ofgrowthfrominternal

promotionmarketfor

leaders is extremely

competitive

A combination of hiring

and rapid advancement to

replace retiring top-level

executives

Aggressive recruiting iden-

tification of internal talent

Incorporate behavioral

assessments of desired

qualities into promotion

criteria

Create focused and effec-

tive development experi-

ences to enhance desired

competencies

Assess progress and invest

as required

Invest in development

of local leaders in APAC,

Africa and Latin America

ACTIONS TO CREATE

REQUIRED LEADERSHIP

Need accelerated develop-

mentinEMEAandAPAC

Need effective on boarding

processes in each region

NeedeffectiveM&A

integration process

Mustaddressissuesthat

cause females and Genera-

tionXworkerstodecline

leadership opportunities

NewtalentIDandrecruit-

ing processes

Need robust measures

based on observable

behaviors

Mustmovepeopleout

ofkeypositionswhoare

unabletomaketheshift

within1–2years

Need succession planning

for missioncritical positions

Diversify leadership

development staff to

reflect global mission

OTHER

IMPLICATIONS

Collective

Capabilities

Leadership

Culture, Skills/

Behaviors

Keyareasforimprovement

include faster innovation to

market,moreresponsive-

ness to customers

and enhanced talent

development

Mustmovefroma

dependent/independent

to more of an interdepen-

dent leadership culture

to support strategy that

calls for coordinated ac-

tion across functions and

regions

LEADERSHIP

DIMENSION

KEY

STRATEGIES

Identify senior executives

to lead each of these three

initiatives

Usethreeinitiatives“action

development” to develop

collective leadership ca-

pabilitieswhileaddressing

strategic requirements

Senior leaders need to un-

derstandwhatisrequired

of them at a personal and

organizational level to

makethishappen.“Visible

leadership” of this transfor-

mation is critical.

Useactiondevelopment

initiatives to engage

employees at all levels in

leading required changes

ACTIONS TO CREATE

REQUIRED LEADERSHIP

Stafftoallowtimeon

action development

projects

Promotions to the senior

team over the next five

years must be considered

in light of this imperative

OTHER

IMPLICATIONS

Creating the Leadership Development Strategy

On-boarding Processes

New leaders must be socialized into the company

and leadership culture and must be made aware

of the expectations and developmental require-

ments that come with each promotion.

Individual and Organizational Assessments

Assessments are used to help individuals gain

self-awareness, but also to provide information

that allows the organization to identify talent

that is a good t with available positions. On the

organizational level, assessments determine how

the organization and its leaders are performing,

or the impact of development activities on busi-

ness results.

Individual Development Plans

These are plans that leaders make for their devel-

opment over a period of time. The best plans are

comprehensive, covering work as well as program

activities, and are discussed by the individual

leader with their HR representative and manager.

Required/Core Learning Experiences

Certain learning experiences are required to hold

a position or accept a leadership role at a particu-

lar level in the organization.

Elective Learning Opportunities

These are internal or external courses or experi-

ences that are made available to leaders on a vol-

untary basis. Tuition reimbursement for courses

is often provided by organizations to encourage

leaders to take advantage of elective learning op-

portunities.

The Leadership Development Strategy must be formulated to support the leadership strategy. The

leadership development strategy should specify the actions that must be taken to retain, develop or

acquire the leaders and the leadership skills required by the business strategy and will cover the topics

listed below.

Work Assignments

Work assignments are often overlooked

as an opportunity to help leaders de-

velop specic competencies or practice

key behaviors. To enhance the focus on

learning from work assignments, it’s

important to have specic goals, oppor-

tunities to receive feedback on progress

and a coach or mentor with whom to

discuss learning strategies.

Special Assignments/Initiatives

There are multiple advantages to tying

learning to project assignments. If the

project assignments involve important

work, learning from the project takes on

relevance that may not exist as strongly

in other learning environments. Team

members can provide helpful feedback,

and the relationships that are devel-

oped in projects with team members

can facilitate future collaborative work.

Managers who oversee projects get an

expanded view of people who work

on them as they tackle novelty and

teamwork and perform under pressure.

Support for learning during projects can

also improve the quality of the work

that is performed, which may be criti-

cal on key initiatives. When executives

take an active role in projects related

to strategic initiatives, there is an even

more powerful opportunity to support

learning and development from the top

to the bottom of the organization. We

calltheseeorts“actiondevelopment”

because they hold the potential to

develop leaders and the organization’s

capabilities at the same time. Facilitated

correctly, action development projects

hold the key to 1) creating leadership

cultures that enable organizational

adaptability and 2) the leadership readi-

ness needed to address ongoing issues

and unforeseen challenges.

Coaching/Mentoring/Feedback

While the value of coaching and men-

toring is widely appreciated, it is seldom

realized in practice because those doing

the coaching or mentoring are not ad-

equately skilled or dedicated. Supercial

coaching or mentoring is frustrating and

may even damage relationships that are

critical to career success. While coach-

ing and mentoring are powerful tools,

it’s important to invest fully in them

before they are employed.

Team-based, Cross-functional Learn-

ing and Relationship Building

Many organizations cite the inability

of their executives to work together on

teams and across boundaries as a major

obstacle to success. It stands to rea-

son that the way to learn these things

is by doing them, but not without the

supports that make learning powerful:

learning objectives, content inputs, as-

sessment, observation and feedback.

Leadership Meetings and Events

Leadership meetings and events are

sometimes overlooked as opportunities

for people to learn, as well as to receive

information. Given the high costs of as-

sembling people these days, every eort

should be made to leverage these meet-

ings and events for multiple purposes,

including learning.

Executive Engagement in

Talent Development

Many of the benets desired from

executive development will not occur

unless senior executives buy into the

process, support the investments being

made and model the behaviors that are

desired. The creation of a dierent lead-

ership culture starts with those at the

top stepping up and stepping forward to

demonstrate their personal engagement

and support for change.

Employee Engagement Activities

Once leaders are on board, it’s possible to engage

employees in a meaningful way. Many employees

are informal leaders, whose help is indispensable in

achieving organizational objectives. Engaging them

also helps leaders continue to develop, as they

receive feedback on what does or doesn’t work as

they attempt to create direction, alignment and

commitment.

Leadership by Level, Function and Location

The leadership development strategy should take

into account dierences in requirements by level,

function and location. The notion of a leadership

pipeline with identiable turning points that call

for higher and higher levels of leadership ability is

widely accepted.

The pipeline notion needs to be

complemented with attention to the specic needs

of learners in various functions and locations. Law-

yers, accountants and marketing professionals need

special attention, just as leaders in China need dif-

ferent inputs than those in India or Brazil.

Development Over Time

Rather than the one-year outlook driven by budget

cycles that is typical in most leadership develop-

ment curricula, we suggest that the leadership

development strategy should look out three to ve

years, from the perspectives of both the organiza-

tion and individual executive. By matching the

organizational changes that accompany strategy

execution with what will happen to an execu-

tive during the same period of time, development

strategies take on a more holistic perspective that

includes work activities, action development proj-

ects, conferences, leadership meetings and events,

community service, work assignments, board

memberships, mentoring relationships and other

learning opportunities in addition to programs.

With this more holistic perspective, time, energy

and resources for development can begin to shift to

where the greatest potential for relevant learning

and critical application lie—namely to supporting

learning through work, through the implementa-

tion of strategies and through eorts to adapt to

unplanned change.

This gure shows how the leadership development strategy is related to and driven by the business

strategy and is tied to business results. It also makes clear that developing leaders should be thought of

systemically, not simply as a curriculum composed of programs.

“Otheshelf”programsorexperiencesmaybe

ne for starters, but they won’t be sucient to

achieve the leadership strategy, which means that

the business strategy won’t be implemented. Be-

cause the link between business strategy, leader-

ship strategy and leadership development strate-

gy has so often been missed, many organizations

don’t have either a dened leadership strategy or

leadership development strategy at all.

A cursory examination of these organizations will

reveal that leadership development consists of an

assortment of programs that are roughly tied to

the level of participants, rather than to a care-

ful assessment of business needs. Competency

models, when they have been customized to t

the business, are often generic, backward look-

ing or only loosely tied to the learning activities

that take place. Dierent units or locations in the

organization may have their own approaches to

development, utilizing dierent activities, pro-

grams and vendors. The end result is a horren-

dous waste of time and money, as well as missed

opportunities to make important contributions to

organizational success.

Participants in non-strategic development

programsmaysensethattheyarebeing“put

throughthemill”andthatwhat’simportantis

“checkingthebox”ratherthanapplyingwhat

they are learning to key organizational objectives.

Even if they are able to derive personal insights

that they want to put into practice, they will often

nd that there is no support for them to do so.

While shortcuts may appear to save time and

money, in the long run they are a poor invest-

ment because they don’t produce individual or

organizational transformation. To achieve lasting

and substantial benets, learning must be applied

to real organizational issues. Moreover, learning

must take place in the collective, not just on the

part of individuals. It’s how formal and informal

leaders work together that determines whether

or not organizations succeed in implementing

strategies and adapting to change, not individual

leaders acting alone. Leadership development

activities must change the context within which

leading takes place, not simply the mindsets or

capabilities of individual leaders. While capable

individuals are the foundation for success, orga-

nizations require coordinated action to improve

eectiveness or shift directions. Individual de-

velopment and coaching will only get the orga-

nization so far; breakthroughs require attention

to leadership cultures and collective leadership

capabilities.

Moreover, the leadership development

strategy should reect the challenges

and content included in the leadership

strategy.

A well thought-through leadership

development strategy will return ben-

ets at the individual, team and orga-

nizational level that simply can’t be

achieved by assembling o-the-shelf

programmatic components, no matter

how good their content.

Implications for Talent Acquisition, Talent

Sustainability, and Leadership Practice

The leadership development strategy will in turn

have implications for talent management process-

es and leadership practices that aect individual

leaders, as well as the leadership culture. Unless

these systems, processes and policies are aligned

with the leadership strategy, they will at best fail

to reinforce the intended message and at worst

become barriers to success.

Executive Commitment and Engagement

As discussed previously, talent management has become

a priority for senior executives. However, there can be

vast dierences in the level of support that is actually

demonstrated and the level to which executives become

personally engaged in talent management activities. The

occasional talk at a leadership program isn’t sucient to

shape the leadership culture, attract and retain the best

talent and plan a leadership strategy that makes a bold

new business strategy possible. The responsibility for

talent management can no longer be delegated to the Hu-

man Resources department. It must remain at the highest

levels of the company, held by the CEO and members of

the executive team as a shared commitment to the future

of the organization. Executives must be assessed in terms

of their engagement in talent management activities and

actions taken to support or deal strongly with those who

fail to act.

Learning and Development

The leadership development strategy species how learn-

ing and development should occur for executives.

Career Planning

Work assignments and career moves are important vehi-

cles for development. Too often, opportunities to make the

most of these assignments are missed. People spend time

in a new location, but fail to learn the language or inter-

act with those who could help them understand the local

culture. A crossfunctional assignment may be carried out

by learning the minimum possible to do the work, rather

than immersing oneself in the content of the job to take

full advantage of the expertise of others. A career move is

a precious thing to waste.

Reward and Recognition

Everyone knows the power of rewards to reinforce certain

behaviors and not others. When rewards are not tied to the

content of the learning development strategy, the strategy

takes a back seat to work or other priorities that are per-

ceived to be more important to one’s pay or future. Failure

to align rewards and recognition with learning objectives is

perhaps the most common and easily corrected mistake in

executive development eorts.

Knowledge Management

Knowledge management systems can greatly simplify

learning and also capture important information that

might otherwise disappear as talented individuals retire or

move on to other assignments.

Performance Management

Rewards and recognition are blunt instruments for chang-

ing behavior. Performance management should be more

continuous, more targeted and more individualized.

Competency Development and Deployment

Competencies provide helpful directional guidance to

executives who are looking for signposts that explain

what they are expected to do. However, in many organiza-

tions, too much emphasis has been placed on competen-

cies relative to other elements in leadership development

strategies. Even if one receives a thorough 360 assessment

and advice on what to do about gaps between current and

desired behavior, at best the information can help one be

in the learning journey, not end it. Moreover, competen-

cies are static and individually oriented, making them less

useful in dynamic environments where collective actions

are required to adapt to change. In most organizations,

more emphasis should be placed on team and organiza-

tional learning to complement the individual focus that

accompanies the use of competency models

Sourcing and Recruiting

It makes sense, when possible, to begin leadership devel-

opment with people who are already inclined to do what

the organization needs them to do. Some organizations,

like Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company, believe

that their highly selective sourcing strategies are the key

to their continued success. If there are leadership posi-

tions in your organization that don’t require the best talent

available, those positions are probably candidates for

outsourcing. As organizations adopt new business models,

expand into new territories or adopt bold new strate-

gies, they often try to get there with the leadership they

already have, instead of getting the leadership they need.

That’s why innovative new rms are able to run by their

entrenched competition and why some rms that need to

change never do.

Leadership Practices

Leadership practices are the observable, shared behaviors

that shape and ultimately dene the leadership culture.

According to Ed Schein, a preeminent author on the topic

of organizational culture, culture can be discerned by

listening to the stories that people tell one another about

the organization. The same is probably true for the leader-

ship culture. The leadership culture can be discerned by

listening to what people say about leaders in the organi-

zation. The stories people tell will be based on behaviors

theyobserve,especiallyduringunusualtimesthat“test”

the true nature of the leadership culture. When results

aren’t achieved, what happens? Do leaders start look-

ing for scapegoats, or do they engage people in problem

solving? When strategies are not implemented, do lead-

ers nger point, or do they pull together across units and

levels to gure out what’s happening and try something

new? What’s interesting and important for leaders to note

is that speeches do not determine how people view the

leadership culture. People listen to speeches, but then they

watch closely to see what really happens. That’s why den-

ing the leadership practices that are essential to imple-

menting the leadership strategy is so important.

Getting Results and Building the

Talent Your Organization Needs

Getting tapped to be CEO is the result

of much work, over many years. It’s a

competitive process for a reason. By

investing in your experience, as well as

building your personal, network, and

relationship readiness, you will have

earned a chance at the top job.

More important, the four readiness

factors prepare you to do the job. The

goal is not merely to win the succession

game—it is to lead a successful, healthy

company into an uncertain future.

With the right leadership strategy in place, the right lead-

ership development process designed and the appropri-

ate talent acquisition, talent sustainability and leadership

practices in place, there’s a much better chance that your

organization will achieve success in implementing its busi-

ness strategy. If business results don’t follow, it’s time to go

into a learning mode once again. Was the strategy incorrect

in the rst place? If so, what can be done to experiment

rapidly with alternative strategies to see if they hold more

promise? Or, was the leadership strategy incorrect? Or, was

the leadership development strategy ineective in produc-

ing the leadership and leadership culture desired? Figuring

out what’s working and not working will be much easier if

you know what you intended to accomplish and have iden-

tied intermediate and summary metrics that provide feed-

back each step of the way. Having gone through the process

outlined here will make it much more likely that you will

understand what is really happening, or at least have a

good guess about where you need to look for answers.

If you are successful in achieving desired business results,

there is a nal bonus that is indicated by the arrow above

from strategic execution back to business strategy. That is,

the new leadership capabilities you have developed may

allow the organization to consider even more aggressive

strategies to meet the competition or respond to change.

Making continuous improvement a key driver of business

results requires a leadership strategy that calls for continuous

improvement in leadership as well.

About the Author References

William Pasmore, PhD, joined the

Center for Creative Leadership in

January 2008 as Senior Vice Presi-

dent and Organizational Practice

Leader. An international authority in

organizational leadership, he leads

CCL’s eorts to help clients develop

the larger organizational leadership

systems that increase their overall

performance and enable their in-

dividual leaders to thrive. Pasmore

previously served as partner in the

Corporate Learning & Organizational

Development Practice of consulting

rm Oliver Wyman Delta, where he

headed the global research prac-

tice and worked personally with top

executives of Fortune 500 companies

on organizational architecture, suc-

cession planning, talent management

and strategic planning. He holds a BS

in Aeronautical Engineering/Industri-

al Management and a PhD in Admin-

istrative Sciences, both from Purdue

University. [email protected]

Conclusion

A leadership strategy supports the eective implemen-

tation of an organization’s business strategy. Without

the right leadership, organizational strategies will

remain as ink on paper.

Like the sports coach whose mediocre team never wins

a championship, even with a new book of plays every

year, the CEO can’t hope to achieve bold new strate-

gies without giving thought to his leadership team

and leadership culture. Too many organizations have

become complacent with their existing leadership pro-

grams, instead of making certain that they are linking

their leadership strategies and development invest-

ments with their business strategies and taking full

advantage of the learning opportunities that accom-

pany strategic change.

Getting the right leadership to implement business

strategies takes careful planning and dedicated eort,

and often substantial investment.

“Direction,Alignment,Commitment:Toward

aMoreIntegrativeOntologyforLeadership,”

byWilfredH.Drath,CynthiaD.McCauley,

CharlesJ.Palus,EllenVanVelsor,Patricia

M.G.O’Connor,andJohnB.McGuirewas

accepted for publication in Leadership

Quarterly.

“2007 State of the Industry Report,” by

AndrewParadise,ASTD,AlexandriaVA.

“2007 Industry Report,” in Training

Magazine,November–December.

“WhyMultinationalsStruggletoManage

Talent,”byMatthewGuthridgeandAsmus

Komm,The McKinsey Quarterly,May2008.

“The Leadership Pipeline,” by Ram Charan,

Stephen Drotter, and James Noel, Jossey-

Bass, 2001.

5.09/8.11/4.14

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