Develop Your Team’s Future Leaders to Change the Status Quo
Identifying future leaders and helping them grow is hard work, and it comes with the risk that things won’t work out, or, conversely, will work out so well that the object of your development or mentorship moves onto a big new opportunity. Why not just fill in the gaps yourself, or recruit outside the company to bring in external talent at the level you need?
When you invest in developing your own leaders, you have the opportunity to:
Improve team member engagement.
Making progress at something personally meaningful can be powerfully motivating for people in their work.
Mold your leaders’ skills to fit your needs.
Each organization and team is different. Whether you need leaders who are good at adapting, or staying the course during times of tumult; are original, or achievers; communicate enthusiastically, or quietly influence — it’s useful to shape your team’s leaders to your organization’s idiosyncrasies when possible.
Inspire other future leaders in the ranks.
A culture of upward mobility assures team members who are at early stages of their careers that they, too, have a chance to grow and advance at your company.
Reduce risk and cost, compared with hiring externally.
Moving someone internally into a leadership role ensures both parties know what to expect at the outset. Hiring an untested outside leader can be risky, as capabilities that make a leader successful in one company may need to be augmented or unlearned in order to thrive somewhere else.
Grow as a leader by helping others grow their leadership skills.
Mentoring or managing early stage team members is a great way to hone your abilities as a leader. It can also help others observe your leadership in action.
Open doors for underrepresented team members.
At many American companies, the more senior the role, the more likely it is to be occupied by a white guy. This means that when you need to bring in a leader, the readily available candidate pool is more likely to reflect the status quo and less likely to include underrepresented groups. The lower tiers at an organization are typically at least somewhat more diverse, so when you take the time to develop leaders from within your ranks, you have the opportunity to include people who likely have a wider range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
Helping others develop and grow their leadership skills is rewarding, valuable, and important work. When you take the time to identify future leaders and invest in them, everyone wins.
Convinced? ❤ In another post, I’ll talk about how to search for and identify the future leaders that are hiding in plain sight within your ranks.
