Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Three Star Leadership Blog: Getting the Right People in Leadership Roles

Wally Bock

11/29/2011

How do we do a better job of picking leaders? How can we pick more of the people who are most likely to succeed and less of the ones who simply can't do the job? Dr. Ken Nowack and Dr. Ken Blanchard took a shot at those questions recently.

Ken Nowack's post was "In Search of…..Excellent Leaders." He reviewed the instruments, tools, and techniques companies use for selecting leaders. He identified twelve things that we know about selecting leaders, beginning with this.

"No specific assessment approach is statistically very strong in predicting success or performance although work sample simulations, cognitive ability tests for entry positions and more structured interviews are the strongest."

Ken Blanchard comes at the same issue from a different angle in his post "How to Identify a Future Leader." He says this.

"I think the best way to identify a potential leader is to ask people: “Who do you enjoy working with? Who do you respect in the workforce?” The names you hear in answer to those questions are the kind of people you want to identify as potential leaders and promote."

Art Petty recently posted something similar to Blanchard. In his post, "You Have No Business Leading Others" Art suggests three core questions to ask before turning anyone loose in a leadership position. Where Dr. Blanchard asks others for their opinion of working with the candidate, Art asks questions about the person's behavior.

All of this is good and helpful, but not enough. When I look at either the Aon Hewitt study, "Top Companies for Leaders" or the Hay Group’s "Best Companies for Leadership" I see another, important piece of the choosing leaders puzzle.

The companies that are best at developing leaders use a variety of techniques and tools. They ask a variety of questions about candidates. But they add something important: a rigorous and disciplined evaluation that fits the regular cadence of the company.

In those companies, evaluating individuals to identify development opportunities is part of the rhythm of the business. They expect every manager to do it.

There are three important results. Managers develop the ability to evaluate others for the next level and beyond. The people who are developing get the benefit of many evaluations by different people. And when the time comes to select someone for promotion to a leadership role, there's a pool of judgment to draw upon.

Boss's Bottom Line

The best evaluation systems supplement well-chosen tools and questions with human judgment developed through a disciplined rigorous process.

 
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.


Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking t your group.


Access Source And Its Great Content: http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2011/11/29/getting-the-right-people-in-leadership-roles.aspx

No comments: