Are You Overlooking Leadership Talent?

By Jennifer Jones -  1/31/14

Global leadership development should identify individuals whose influence and following make them leaders, regardless of their position on the organizational chart.

More than half of global companies define leaders not by their position on the organization chart, but by their influence and performance. Findings from the fourth annual “Global Leadership Development: Everybody’s Game” survey from AMA Enterprise also indicate that organizations need to consider broadening their approach to leadership development programs, in terms of who participates and in content.

AMA Enterprise, where the author works, partnered with the Institute for Corporate Productivity and Training magazine to evaluate a study of 1,174 senior-level business, human resource and management professionals from 37 industry sectors in 40 countries. The survey was conducted in January 2013.

The largest proportion of participants, nearly four in 10 (Figure 1), said their definition of a leader is anyone whose role allows him or her to influence a group, regardless of direct reporting relationships. According to another 14 percent, a leader is anyone, whether they manage others or not, who is a top-performer in their specific role. In all, 53 percent of respondents consider people to be leaders not according to their authority, but their impact.

In global terms, pace-setting companies now recognize that leaders can emerge from a far broader group than those at the top of the organization chart. Teamwork, collaboration and contribution to success played key roles in shaping this trend.

“With organizations flattening and workplace challenges being more complex and requiring significantly broader collaboration, everyone needs to be able to step up,” said Brad Federman, founder and president of Performancepoint LLC, a performance management and employee engagement company. “Organizations that align structure, development and strategy around contribution and leadership capability will outperform those that don’t. The bottom line is … leadership development now needs to be an inclusive effort.”

Article reprinted fro Chief Learning Officer Online, January 31, 2014

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How to Find Leaders in the Workplace

In a department or work group of any size, smaller groups begin to form along the lines of common needs and desires. You can often observe these groups during breaks or lunch time. Workers enjoy being together because of similar interests, problems, work, or other factors. This is where your informal leader emerges. When you recognize these informal leaders, you can use their power and influence to enhance the results and productivity of the group. You can antagonize informal leaders and their followers and see productivity sabotaged, or you can harness the power of informal groups to increase productivity.

Although informal leaders are not designated by the organization, they frequently wield extensive power and influence because of their ability to help other team members satisfy needs and reach goals. They are automatically sought out for advice and help when a colleague experiences a problem. They often are outstanding team members with common sense, loyalty, and can contribute a great deal to your company’s success when you delegate to them and help them develop their abilities even further.

Seven Questions that Demonstrate Engagement

After reading the “The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations that Win, Susan R. Meisinger, former CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, comments in an article that the difficulty that organizations face when trying to engage people who are all motivated by different things, is to shift your view of engagement from not simply “being present” but look at engagement as “being emotionally and socially present”. She feels if HR wants to help their leadership team and employees find greater meaning in their roles within the company, they need to do more than ensure that everyone has a best friend at work or has been coached about their future career with the last 60 days.

I agree with Susan that HR professionals who are charged with elevating employee engagement need to read this book to better understanding of the why’s of the seven questions. The book will offer them new insights into ways to increase their own engagement – or to increase the abundance in their lives – and increasing the value they bring to their own organization. As Susan states, it’s engagement with a different view.

So when are you going out on into the workplace to ask these questions?

1. Who am I?

2. Where am I going?

3. Whom do I travel with?

4. How do I build a positive work environment?

5. What challenges interest me?

6. How do I change, learn and grow?

7. What delights me?

It’s time to learn if we do have an engaged workforce or not…..Get moving.

The questions listed above were presented in a recent book by Dave and Cindy Ulrich, The why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations that Win; their book focuses on how leaders engage their workforce but also their customers, vendors, community and investors.