As we move forward in an uncertain economy, the task of choosing organizational leaders increases in importance. In addition, organizations are putting money into leadership development. Gallagher writes in Human Resource Executive “According to the 2008 Bersin and Associates Leadership Development Survey,” “40 percent of those polled said their spending on leadership development has remained the same, while about 36 percent of the organizations said their budgets were slated to increase this year.”

Do the qualities necessary for leaders dealing with todays uncertain economy differ from those required in the past? Absolutely, say the experts. The Leader of the Future, edited by Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldmith and Richard Beckhard, and authored by The Druker Foundation, is a fascinating exploration of this question. Throughout the book, many experts in the field share their advice on organizational leadership. A similar message permeates many of the writings; the new world of work requires a new type of leadership that is open, dispersed and makes use of individual skills and strengths.

Performance management systems play a key role in helping individuals develop leadership skills. The same systems help organizational leaders identify emerging leaders. Does your system reflect the skills that are required of leaders now or does it  reflect an outdated paradigm?

If we consider the words of the following experts, we can begin to consider some of the essential elements of a performance management system. 

On page five of the book, Charles Handy writes, “More simply put, the principle means that stealing people’s responsibilities is wrong because it ultimately deskills them.” 

We can ask some of the following questions.
-do employees have the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities as they learn and grow?
-are employees given tasks to challenge them and enhance their skill development?
-are the individuals who are currently in leadership positions willing to “share” responsibilities?

Edgar H. Schein, professor of management for Sloan School of Management writes “many more people in organizations will have to be leaders and the leadership functions described above will have to be much more widely shared” (p. 59).

-does your organization define leadership competencies?
-are leadership skills part of each individual’s performance assessment?
-do employees have access to training or learning and development opportunities to improve their leadership skills?
-do current leaders ask for, and listen to, feedback from all employees?
-are individual strengths, and contributions recognized?

On page 113 of the book, James L. Heskett, “UPS Foundation Professor of Business Logistics at the Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University” writes “that the most important determinants of profit and growth are customer loyalty and satisfaction.”

-are employees given the autonomy necessary to allow them to meet customer’s needs
-are employees rewarded for taking time with customers to get a good understanding of their needs and wants?
-do performance measures reflect how often customers re-purchase the company's goods or services?
-are methods in place to capture and measure customer satisfaction?
-do employees know what customers want?
-do performance measures give as much weight to how employees achieve goals as to what is achieved?

Richard J. Leider, writes that people “now work for themselves first and their organizations second” (p. 189).

-do employees feel they are gaining valuable experience on the job?
-are employees given opportunities to develop new skills?

This is only a sample of the advice shared in the book. Nonetheless, there seems to be widespread agreement between many of the authors that continuous learning will be a part of all successful organizations of the future.

-does organizational culture allow individuals to give honest feedback?
-is learning and development an organizational priority?

Perhaps most importantly, we can ask if the performance management processes the best they can be.

References:

Gallagher, Paul. “Slicing, Not Slashing.” Human Resource Executive [www.hreonline.com]. June 2, 2009.

Hesselbein, Frances, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard (Editors) The Leader of the Future. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996.