Identifying and Developing Leaders Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
This HR Toolkit is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Š 2018 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.
Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................3 What to Look for in a Leader.......................................................................................4 Strong Leadership Traits...............................................................................................4 6 Key Leadership Styles ................................................................................................5 Managing and Leading: 5 Important Differences ........................................................6
Finding the Right Leader.............................................................................................8 Cast a Wide Net ............................................................................................................8 4 Ways to Identify Leaders Internally...........................................................................9 How to Hunt, Fish and Trawl for Leaders...................................................................10 5 Steps for Leadership Career Pathing.......................................................................11 Developing Leaders ....................................................................................................13
Appendix ....................................................................................................................14 Leadership Assessment Scorecard .............................................................................15 Interview Questions for Identifying Leaders..............................................................16 Calling Leaders to Action – Email ...............................................................................17 Step Up and Lead – Infographic .................................................................................18
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Introduction In this tight labor market, when employees move to other jobs, they leave vacancies that are increasingly difficult to fill. What’s more, employers can spend so much time trying to fill vacancies that remaining employees become unsatisfied and leave as well. Obviously, this is a worst-case scenario, but it is a reality for many businesses. Situations like these illustrate the importance of looking internally, rather than externally, for great leaders—individuals who can help retain your workforce and keep your business moving toward success. Leaders can be found in all sorts of roles, not just managerial. A sales rep can be just as capable of leading as a manager can. To be successful, your organization should have leaders in every area as beacons for other employees to turn to for guidance. Employees tend to cite compensation as a main motivator for leaving a company. However, one can argue that having a great manager leading them could pre-empt such feelings in the first place. Great leaders can be hard to find, but that is only if you do not know where to look. Consider that your workforce is full of potential leaders who know your business and have a rapport with their co-workers. Tapping into that talent could save you headaches down the road. Use the information in this toolkit to help identify leaders within your organization and develop them for success.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
What to Look for in a Leader Spotting leaders does not have to be difficult. You can probably name a few people you consider good leaders. The tricky part is identifying the qualities that make these individuals great. What makes these people so good at what they do? This section aims to address that question and help you identify important leadership qualities.
Strong Leadership Traits Many attributes can signal good leaders, but not all will work best for your organization. Consider the following list of leadership traits and think about which areas of your organization could benefit from each one:
These are some general traits to look for, but bear in mind that different leadership roles will call for specific traits. For instance, you may need a sales manager who can delegate tasks and communicate effectively, but for an account manager, you may focus on their ability to learn quickly and achieve specific goals.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
6 Key Leadership Styles Just like there are different leadership traits, there are also different leadership styles. In fact, experts agree there are six distinct styles employed by successful leaders. These styles, outlined by the consulting firm Hay/McBer, are important to understand because they will have different effects on employees. For instance, some departments may require a more hands-on leader than others. This section outlines all six leadership styles and when they may be the most useful.
This style is routinely summarized as the “do as I say” style. While effective during crisis situations or when working under strict parameters, coercive leadership tends to lower motivation and ignite feelings of resentment among employees—especially highly skilled workers who loathe micromanaging.
Authoritative leaders take charge of their employees’ directions. These leaders offer long-term visions or goals, and monitor employee performance on their way to achieving them. This style can be useful when a department needs to be set back on course. However, it is less effective if employees have more experience or relevant knowledge than the leader.
Leaders who use this style tend to focus on individuals over tasks. They are mostly concerned about team harmony and morale. This can be beneficial for employee happiness, but it can also allow performance issues to slip through the cracks.
Democratic leadership is focused on getting input from all employees and empowering them with responsibility. Giving a voice to employees can help generate ideas and increase motivation. However, this style can also overburden employees with meetings and be difficult to maintain amidst conflicting schedules.
This style can be described as leading by example. Leaders who employ this style typically have high standards, are self-motivated and expect their employees to keep up in terms of performance. This can be great for other self-motivated individuals, but it can also spark resentment from those who feel like the leader takes over every situation. 5
Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Coaching leadership focuses mostly on personal development, opposed to immediate tasks. This style can be useful for employees who are open to self-improvement and need direction. However, coaching is ineffective for those who are unwilling to change their behavior and who continue to have performance issues.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Managing and Leading: 5 Important Differences It has been implied for years that management and leadership are virtually synonymous. It makes sense, given that managers are often looked to as leaders within an organization. However, the two roles involve stark differences that are important to understand when searching for quality leaders. This does not mean a manager cannot be a leader—merely that the functions are not as identical as they may appear. Keep this in mind when trying to identify leaders. Just because someone is a manager does not mean he or she will be the leader you are looking for. Consider these five differences between managers and leaders, as identified by Forbes.
Managers are often viewed as leaders, but think about what some of their essential functions are: hiring, firing, scheduling, budgeting and planning. These duties do not require leadership. Managers are traditionally focused on keeping the department functioning as efficiently as possible. To them, a team is a series of parts that can be swapped out, as long as the same tasks are accomplished. Leaders, conversely, understand that teams are comprised of individuals whose energy and compatibility is just as important as the functions they serve. In other words, a leader’s mission is to foster creativity and responsibility in the workplace, working with individuals to achieve this. Employees must be engaged with their jobs to produce quality results. Leaders know this and help develop individuals instead of taking a managerial approach and simply focusing on the numbers.
It can be the tendency of managers to react to conflict with punishments or disciplinary threats. This is because managers are typically used to having the final say in matters. Their role is to manage employees, and they must retain that power through confident decision-making. This mindset can overpower a manager’s self-awareness and make them less open to discussion. Good leaders are able to admit when they make mistakes. They can open dialogues with employees and talk about any miscommunication. Fundamentally, leaders are willing to trust employees and discuss processes, whereas managers expect their instructions to be followed without hesitation.
It takes a certain kind of person to trust someone else with important tasks, especially when it is workrelated. However, quality leaders can accept those inherent risks and provide that trust. This is not something managers are generally good at, since they are accustomed to being the final authority on all matters. 7
Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance Leaders, on the other hand, understand the importance of nurturing trust between employees and the benefits that come with allowing another capable person to take charge. A good leader knows when to let someone else take the reins and can trust them to do so effectively.
Managers like to be looked to as the subject matter expert on all topics. In their view, they are the head decision-makers, so they must be involved if a project has any chance of succeeding. This approach can alienate other ideas and discourage employees from sharing input in the first place. All it takes is one idea to be curtly dismissed for an employee to start withholding their input altogether. It is important that employees are viewed as collaborators, not just worker bees. Leaders know they are not always going to have the correct answers. They know how to build relationships with employees and collaborate on projects, instead of steamrolling everyone. Leaders are able to keep vital communication channels open by maintaining trust with employees and encouraging their participation.
Managers, especially the old-school kind, may think it is prudent to leave one’s personality at home, taking on a different attitude at work. They believe success is a formula that can be solved by hiring the right people and hitting the right metrics. These managers were not taught the importance of having a personal voice. This is not the approach a quality leader takes. Leaders know their personalities benefit their work, not diminish it. Speaking up in the face of ingrained practices and broken systems takes guts. Leaders have the strength to say what they believe will help their organization, despite opposition. They know the only way to secure credibility is to tell others what they need to hear, even if they do not want to hear it.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Finding the Right Leader Understanding what it takes to be a leader will only get you so far. Ultimately, you will need to find someone who can put those virtues into practice. This section provides insight into identifying potential leaders within your organization and developing them for needed positions.
Cast a Wide Net Leaders are not always in management positions, as the previous section makes clear. It is critical that you look in all areas of your organization for leaders, not just those who are closest to the top. Casting a wide net and considering a variety of employees can yield greater results than focusing solely on managers or senior employees. Think about the role that you need to fill and consider the abilities someone needs to succeed in the positon. Beyond considering a variety of employees, it can be most beneficial to encourage individuals to lead and see who rises to the challenge. By offering leadership opportunities, you can create a pool of potential leaders who you can rely upon down the road as positions become available. Testing these abilities and forming a pool now will save you from being blindsided by employee departures. Consider these ways to encourage leadership among your employees:
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
4 Ways to Identify Leaders Internally Your organization is potentially filled with leaders—you just need to know where to look. This section details four ways you can identify prospective leaders.
The first step to identifying potential leaders should be determining your criteria for what constitutes a good leader. This can vary by organization, which makes it important to discuss your criteria with other company stakeholders. For instance, you may need individuals who can lead by example, whereas other organizations may need people who are more authoritative. Think about your needs and develop an assessment to administer to promising employees. Identifying the characteristics you want will help when looking for individuals with them.
Conversing regularly with employees—outside of performance evaluations—can be extremely beneficial for identifying leadership potential. Give employees time to speak their minds in a relaxed setting. Discuss topics like their career development and long-term goals. These kinds of conversations can provide insight into an employee, like his or her level of engagement, desire to grow and ability to lead. You can gather some of this information from group settings, as well. For instance, keep an eye on employees who regularly speak up during team meetings and consistently go beyond their job duties to help achieve tangible results.
An employee who excelled in a given month is one thing—an employee who excels every month is another. Look beyond employees’ recent performance when evaluating whether they have leadership potential. Start all the way back to when the employees began working for . Open positions can entice employees to act more engaged, but true leaders will show commitment throughout their tenure.
Having a leader with high emotional intelligence will have a tremendous impact on employees. These leaders are able to communicate their feelings effectively, look at a situation from all perspectives and maintain a positive outlook regardless of the situation. This intelligence allows leaders to connect with employees in ways other individuals cannot. For instance, a person with low emotional intelligence may ask an employee a personal question to establish a relationship, then never bring the subject up again. A good leader would follow up on the topic and maintain that rapport with the employee.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
How to Hunt, Fish and Trawl for Leaders For many years, the strategy for finding leaders has been “wait and let the cream rise to the top”— sometimes called the harvesting method. This assumption is commonplace in many businesses and puts the responsibility on potential leaders to make themselves known. However, this strategy falls short of other more proactive approaches, according to management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. McKinsey argues that you can find leaders within your organization more effectively using the following methods:
The Hunting Method This approach involves actively seeking out potential leaders, opposed to waiting for them to appear. Employees who are not on the high-potential short list can be great leaders in their own right. However, it takes a targeted approach to turn over every stone. Software databases exist that can scan employee data, like education and work experience, to identify potential leaders, but their cost is generally prohibitive. Instead, try sending a leadership assessment to employees to gauge their potential or hone in on a specific demographic from whose insight you think your company could benefit. For instance, some industries with historically few women leaders tasked their managers to seek out female employees specifically for leadership roles. The results produced effective leaders with valuable perspectives who had not been recognized before.
The Fishing Method As the name implies, this method involves “baiting” potential leaders into revealing themselves. By implementing recognition programs or other methods, you can identify promising individuals and move them closer toward a leadership opportunity. For instance, you could offer a quarterly award for problem-solving leadership for individuals who tackle tough problems and lead by example. This kind of recognition can encourage soft-spoken leaders to step up. Before advertising any recognition program, speak with other stakeholders about the kinds of leaders you are looking for, as that will determine your bait.
The Trawling Method Digging deep into a department—trawling—is another way to find internal leadership talent. This method involves sifting through employee feedback and employee-reported leaders. These individuals sometimes fly under the radar of people higher on the corporate ladder, but their leadership is recognized by their peers. For example, an employee could be relied upon for their listening skills, willingness to help others and networking abilities, but are overlooked by managers because these occurrences are less noticeable than, say, leading a presentation. Trawling asks employees whom they look to for leadership, which can significantly narrow a potential candidate pool. Moreover, these individuals could be relied upon for tasks outside their official duties, like professional insight or industry knowledge. Digging deep into a department can reveal aspects that you otherwise never would have known about. 11
Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
5 Steps for Leadership Career Pathing Once you have identified potential leaders, the next step is getting them onto avenues that lead to leadership positions. This process is called career pathing. Fundamentally, career pathing is the process of outlining clear steps that employees can take to move into different positions—usually when motivated by career growth. Below are five main steps to consider when implementing a leadership career pathing program.
Before jumping into a leadership career pathing program, it is important to assess your company’s needs. Ask yourself what you hope to accomplish from a career pathing program. For instance, if turnover at your company is high, the goal might be to reduce turnover by encouraging employees to move into strategic leadership positions. In order to identify your company’s needs, consider creating a focus group that represents various levels and positions within your company to gauge what career development opportunities would resonate most with employees. You may also wish to sit down with supervisors or management to ask what they believe are the biggest hurdles in their departments regarding retention and engagement. Another costeffective solution is to create a short, informal survey that asks employees how they view advancement opportunities at your company and what they would like to see improved.
To develop a career pathing program, you must first have a “job family,” or a collection of job descriptions that include competencies, education, experiences, credentials and necessary qualifications. Job descriptions should accurately reflect the duties and responsibilities of each position as well as list any minimum qualifications. Items within the job family should be easy to read since employees will reference these job descriptions when they map out their career paths.
HR should encourage managers to sit down with their employees to discuss their career goals and evaluate their current skills, experience and education. Managers should compare their current abilities and qualifications to their short- and long-term career paths in order to determine what skills or experience still needs to be acquired. Managers should be honest and transparent in their feedback because false hopes or expectations can cause employee dissatisfaction. These conversations also enable managers to identify potential leaders by discussing employees’ skills and career interests.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Communication is essential when rolling out a career pathing program, especially for leadership opportunities. If employees do not know that career pathing exists or how it could benefit them, the program will not reach its full potential. To increase your return on investment (ROI), it is important to develop a robust communications plan. Using multiple communication platforms—like email, intranet postings, meetings and presentations—can raise awareness of your program. Not only should the initial implementation of the program be well advertised, but HR and management should continue to remind employees about opportunities for growth on a regular basis. For example, if your organization has a mentoring program, make sure that mentors are aware of their mentees’ career goals and that they work with them to provide the skills mentees will need to succeed. Another option for continued reinforcement is during performance reviews. Whether these are done annually, quarterly or more frequently, make sure that managers ask employees about their career path progress and see if there is anything they can do to help employees reach their goals.
After rolling out a career pathing program, it is important to evaluate its success. Gauging the program’s ROI will depend on the goals of the program. For instance, if your goal was to reduce turnover, you can measure your organization’s turnover rate. If it dropped, you can then add in cost savings from replacement costs, which include recruiting, orientation and lost productivity. Remember that some metrics will be harder to quantify, like employee morale. In addition, remember career pathing programs may take several years to achieve a significant ROI, as changing a company culture and employees’ perceptions of an organization can take time. Surveying employees to identify areas for improvement can also be an effective tool to optimize your program.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Developing Leaders Leadership development is a critical step for getting potential leaders into actual roles. It can be part of career pathing, but it is typically a complimentary responsibility. Once you learn who your potential leaders are, you will need to continue developing their leadership strengths until they are ready for realworld experience. Consider some of the strategies below to develop your organization’s potential leaders.
Offer Leadership Duties Your employees may have leadership potential, but it will be hard to cultivate that potential without providing opportunities to use it. Consider giving employees leadership duties to hone their skills. Examples include leading team meetings, introducing the department to new hires, becoming a mentor or overseeing large projects. Beyond providing valuable experience for employees, these opportunities allow you to gauge their leadership strengths and identify areas that need improvement.
Push Employees to Act Naturally Individuals in leadership positions can sometimes find themselves shuffling between authenticity and assimilation—the desire to act as themselves versus how they think the company wants them to act. This can negatively affect their working relationships, especially among their direct reports, since this can make the leader seem aloof and unpredictable. Knowing this, potential leaders should be encouraged to act naturally and retain their personalities throughout the development process. In the long run, this will help them lead more effectively than simply conforming to perceived cultural guidelines.
Have Employees Branch Out There are different kinds of leaders and leadership styles, but even the most soft-spoken leaders must be able to communicate effectively when the situation calls for it. With this in mind, consider inviting potential leaders to networking events, like conferences or company-sponsored outings. These situations push individuals out of their comfort zone and teach them how to network. Networking skills are critical for leaders, especially when they need to solicit help from other departments.
Monitor Decision-making Abilities More than anything, leaders are looked to for their expertise and ability to make decisions confidently. When offering leadership opportunities to employees, be sure to note how they conduct themselves and the choices they make. Once identified, you can use these improvement areas to coach potential leaders and strengthen their decision-making.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Appendix This section is filled with valuable deliverables that you can print and use when developing leaders within your organization. Pair these resources with the information in previous sections to help form a powerful leadership initiative for your employees. Consult with Shepherd Insurance if you have any questions about strategies for using any of the resources below.
Printing Help There are many printable resources in this appendix. Please follow the instructions below if you need help printing individual pages. 1. Choose the “Print” option from the “File” menu. 2. Under the “Settings” option, click on the arrow next to “Print All Pages” to access the dropdown menu. Select “Custom Print” and enter the page number range you would like to print, or enter the page number range you would like to print in the “Pages” box. 3. Click “Print.” For more information, please visit the Microsoft Word printing support page.
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Leadership Assessment Scorecard
Needs improvement: 0-6 Moderate leadership potential: 7-13 High leadership potential: 14-20
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Interview Questions for Identifying Leaders
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Calling Leaders to Action – Email Dear employee,
We are looking for the best and brightest to apply for our newest leadership opportunity. The [insert position] role is a great way to gain exposure within the company and make yourself known. We know our employees have the leadership potential to keep us moving toward success, so we encourage you to apply immediately. If co-workers regularly turn to you for answers, you’re who we’re looking for. Please apply by [insert deadline] to take advantage of this valuable opportunity. For any questions, please respond to this email. We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards, [Insert name] [Insert job title]
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Identifying and Developing Leaders | Provided by: Shepherd Insurance
Step Up and Lead – Infographic
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