What is a Leader's Primary Role?

When will the current leaders realize that their primary role and responsibility is to develop their people?  In other words,  developing the future leaders of the company should be the one skill set that carries the most weight with any performance evaluation.  For a People Development process to succeed, it must be totally supported by the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team.

The key to any succession planning process or high potential development tract is the fact that all involved have a complete understanding of the design for the outcome.  The goal should be a stable of future leaders that can assume a more advanced role if needed to do so tomorrow. With warmer weather around the corner a great example is Baseball Season starting; it is similar to creating all-star utility infielders.  Multi-positional players that have the talent to assume any position when needed.  That's the design of the final three positions on any major league team.


First, a plan must be established to create the process that will satisfy that goal or objective.  This plan must include the selection criteria, the course curriculum, presentation of the vision, mission, core values and culture of the company to each candidate, integration of the business strategy, implementation of a coaching/mentoring program in association with the process, realistic expectations including drop-outs, and most importantly the measuring sticks to define success or failure.  The primary question is how are we going to determine a high potential candidate and how are we going to measure the candidates progress.  Make sure that you have the tools and vehicles in place to do just that!

Second, you must implement the plan and review the progress on a fixed timeline. It may be quarterly, semi - annual or annual.  This review is of the entire process not the individual process.  This should be done on a weekly or bi-weekly basis with the participant and their coach.

Last but not least, the progress and success of the process must be monitored and measured with a willingness to change if necessary.  Make sure the Senior Leadership Team is willing to spend the time to do this since this is their primary role and responsibility.  This allows them to focus on other aspects of their business strategy but still prioritizing the People Development Process.

The cost per candidate usually falls in the $2500 to $5000 range depending on the course structure, curriculum, assessment instruments, consulting fees and other miscellaneous items.  Make sure that they expect a certain percentage to "wash out" but the final ROI is determined by how many people we can develop and to keep the leadership roles in the company filled with little or no gaps in between. So, do you believe that People Development is the primary responsibility of your leadership team today?  If not, it might be time to sit down and focus on the future!

Article by Richard Hohmann, Senior Business Consultant at Innovative Leadership He also facilitates the Leadership and Management Development Programs offered by his company. Richard adds that “real life” experiential learning component that many training programs do not. He is a certified Corporate Business and Executive Coach and works with many successful business executives worldwide. The integration of his experience and his skill sets relative to facilitation and coaching can provide a much better outcome than one by itself.