Developing the Right Leaders for the Future - John Knights
We
often choose our future leaders based on the wrong characteristics. And then we
develop them in the wrong way.
While
I agree with David Clutterbuck's insightful and valuable comments on the
leadership pipeline presented in an HR Magazine article, I believe there is a
much more fundamental issue that needs to be addressed urgently. We are defining
talent (that is "future organisational leaders")
incorrectly.
Just
think, who are the people who generally get to the top? Although there are many
great exceptions to the rule - thankfully, in general the people who reach the
top of organisations are NOT good leaders in my experience. That is because we
choose people who are good at "getting" to the top using a variety of strategies
depending on their personalities.
This
may be because they are assertive (bully?), have gravitas (arrogant?), are
organisationally aware (manipulative?), creative (opinionated?) or decisive
(don’t listen to others?). But the overriding driver that gets these people to
the top is their desire for personal success rather than focusing on the benefit
to the stakeholders of their organisation when making decisions. Their egos are
driven by power, prestige, recognition or reward which guide their
decision-making, even though they are remunerated by the organisation to act in
its best interests!
Of
course there are another kind that get to the top! Those that have connections
in the right places. Sometimes they turn out well too - but often
not!
The
world has changed fundamentally in the last 20 years primarily because of the
quantum leap in communications and the availability of information via the
internet and mobile devices. This has effected most other things in our lives
including the speed of change of society and the birth of a new kind of
democracy and social order. Future generations will NOT put up with today's
typical leaders.
And
yet organisations are still identifying talent in the same way, the major
consultants are still giving the same advice, and the business schools are
still training MBA students the same old stuff.
The
fundamental change we need is to redefine the characteristics we desire of our
future leaders and then search for individuals and develop those capabilities.
While future leaders still need to perform at a high level, they will only make
the best use of the human capital available (the real assets of the business) in
a sustainable way if they have real empathy, show humility, and demonstrate a
desire to develop others and be of service. While these attributes were always
preferred though rare leadership characteristics, they are now increasingly a
"must".
And
you know what, our research suggests women tend to be better at these than men
!
