5 Immediate Steps to Develop Effective Leaders

Generally acknowledged now, leadership development gives organizations a critical competitive advantage. If you want to secure your organization’s future by ensuring you have the leaders both now and in the future you need for success, follow the five steps below. They are an integral part of any effective leadership training program.

1. Critical Few Competencies: Identify the competencies that define successful leaders in your organization. Then you will know what skills and behaviors you need to highlight in your development program.
2. Cultural Alignment: Spend equal time defining and living a high performance organizational culture that aligns with your strategy. Even skilled leaders who don’t “fit” won’t last.
3. Plan Ahead: Figure out what resources you will need to support your leadership development initiative. Who will be involved? What processes need to be in place? How will you deliver training and how much will it cost? How will you evaluate and measure progress and success?
4. Identify and Quantify Talent Levels: Look for leadership talent throughout the organization…at all levels. Build your leadership pipeline for the future…not just for the top positions but for all the teams you count on to deliver against goals.
5. Get Executive Sponsorship with Influence: Garner executive support for the effort. This should not be solely HR’s responsibility. Leadership development is the entire organization’s imperative.