Word Count: 371
Time to Read: 1 minute

Is your company in a good, fair, or poor position to address the risk of a leadership void?

How’s your bench strength?

Are you preparing your talent pool for new opportunities?

Are you prepared if a key manager leaves? In a world of so many vulnerabilities and risks, human capital is high on the list.

Are you developing your leaders to handle check lists and reports or to find their distinct style and abilities to encourage, inspire, and get people to do more than they thought possible?

After all that’s the true test of leadership.

Oh sure leaders need to understand policies, process, and particulars of your company, but more importantly they need to be strong builders and persuaders, not spreadsheet jockeys and masters of meetings.

Can you really discuss your leadership needs?  Can you explain how current staff is being developed? Can you talk about how you’ll find leaders to achieve your overall strategic plan?  Can you talk beyond 20-year old theories, models, and mechanics?  Can you discuss the distinction of your company’s culture and how only those with certain traits rise to positions of leadership?

Succession planning should be part of every C-suite executive and manager annual evaluation.  Leaders at all levels need to be training and mentoring a person who can take their job.

Creating a formal, internal talent management program, must be part of a company’s strategic plan.

There has been so much change in recent years that the requirements of leaders have evolved beyond most company’s old formulas.  Companies don’t have years for multiple assignments to create leaders - which is the primary reason for external searches and hires today.

Organizations need leaders with strong collaborative skills: people who can be change agents – people who can cause and influence change – people who have the ability to tie together the diverse interests of stakeholders and deliver efficiency, quality, customer attraction and retention and financial performance.

Leading people is not about personality tests and theoretical assessments.  Leading is about trial and error, experience and experimentation.  Developing leaders is about preparing people to try, to fail, to rebound, to learn, and to persist.