Keys to developing
Organizational Leaders
by Brigadier
General George Forsythe, Karen Kuhla and Daniel Rice
While the fourth article focused on the
organization, this one will address individuals. We were interested in how CEOs
ensure that employees and organizational leaders are developed to meet the
demands of a dynamic environment. Bob Weidner, CEO of MSCI, the industrial
metals trade organization, indicated—“thoughtful companies view their people as
assets in which you must invest.”
Synchrony Financial’s CEO, Margaret Keane,
summarized why employee development is so important in today’s business
environment: “You cannot ignore the development of the employees, because they
are the foundation of how things operate every day. In the environment we are
in right now where change is happening at such an explosive pace, we have to
make sure we are thinking through the skill sets of our employees to make sure
they are going to be successful in their careers and that we have the right
talent.”
Companies grow employee talent through
both training and development. When employees are preparing to move into
management positions, training is oriented toward job-related and leadership
skills. Development occurs through stretch assignments and critical on-the-job
experiences that broaden employees’ understanding of the organization and
enhance competencies for higher-level leadership. Developmental opportunities
begin by considering an employee’s readiness to grow, then combining
challenging assignments with support (training, coaching and mentoring) so that
employees derive the full benefits of the experience. CEOs who value
development understand that meaningful work should be a catalyst for personal
and professional growth within the context of creating high-performing
organizations. The Army often talks about the fact that it is not made up of
people—it is people–to emphasize the importance of people in all organizations.
Gen. Dennis Reimer notes that “in working with organizations for over five decades,
both military and civilian, it is clear to me that people are our most
important asset. We must ensure we develop them and allow them to be all they
can be to create high-performing organizations.”
All the companies we studied have in-house
employee training programs. Deloitte, for example, takes pride in Deloitte
University, which uses case studies in small-group settings to prepare
professionals for the complexity and ambiguity inherent in their business
environment and to help clients solve their challenges. Mike Fucci described it
this way:
“When you walk through the doors, you see
a different setting. After you check in, your mind switches to learning mode.
It’s very collaborative, a lot of group settings and multimedia interactivity.
Not a lot of presentations. Groups of 6 to 8 to 20 can get together and solve
problems, and we do a lot of case studies; we do a lot of hands-on learning.
It’s a very immersive type of experience.”
MSCI’s CEO, Bob Weidner, sees his
organization’s role as offering training and education for his client
companies. He has established a graduate program—the Strategic Metals
Management program (SMM) at Washington University in St. Louis—for industry
leaders, and he sponsors conferences on emerging trends in the metals industry.
Pratt & Whitney has a comprehensive
employee-training program that includes leadership training for managers at all
levels within the company. All the other companies in our interview set also
outsource to organizations like Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point,
leadership training for senior leaders. In addition, Pratt & Whitney uses
stretch assignments and cross-functional rotational programs to develop
high-potential leaders for more senior positions. Bob Leduc believes much of his
company’s leadership development philosophy revolves around modeling and
reinforcement of positive behaviors until they become ingrained in employees’
DNA, as well as the importance of developing a culture based on trust and
empowerment to ensure the successful delivery of business objectives.
On the training side, Synchrony Financial
has 2-to-3-day functional academies for credit, finance and technology, for
example. Margaret also has instituted a range of leader development programs
such as the STEP Program, which prepares high-potential, non-exempt individuals
for management positions.
“We have a lot of non-exempt employees,
many in call centers, and the STEP Program is focused on helping them advance,”
she explained. “This is a two-year rotational program using experiential
learning and development to help them grow out of the non-exempt ranks into the
exempt ranks and become managers of people; we’ve had real success with the
program. The other positive is that there is a lot of our diversity in our non-exempt
staff, so we’ve been able to pull people up through the organization and
increase diversity in our ranks.
Synchrony makes extensive use of stretch
assignments and critical experiences by moving “people with real talent,
leadership and capabilities to different functions.” Margaret told the story of
a finance professional who was moved to marketing. As a result, both the
individual and the firm discovered he had real talent in that area. He was bold
enough to say he wanted to try it (an indicator of developmental readiness) and
the company was bold enough to let him try it. Margaret also is moving more
tech people into other functional areas to both develop talent and meet the
need for greater tech infusion throughout the company. This is a stellar example
of a CEO matching organizational requirements for adaptability with individual
employee development.
The CEOs with whom we spoke understand
that their organizations’ ability to adapt to market disruptions would only be
effective if their employees and leaders understand how they contribute to the
company’s success and have the requisite skills and personal attributes to make
it happen. We heard CEOs extol the virtues of empowering employees and leaders
at all levels to act within their scope of responsibility to be able to add
flexibility and responsiveness to their companies. Training and leader
development, tailored to specific jobs and levels of responsibility, create the
workforce that is allowing them to succeed in their VUCA environments.
Successful businesses create a culture of
learning that fosters individual growth and corporate flexibility to respond to
the dynamics of the marketplace. The final article in this series highlights
the essential keys to excelling in a VUCA environment.
Fuente: Chief Executive
Haciendo click en cada uno de los links siguientes, Contenidos de nuestros
TALLERES DE CAPACITACIÓN IN COMPANY, "A MEDIDA"
de las necesidades de su Organización:
- Curso Taller ¿Cómo incorporar y aplicar Modelos de PENSAMIENTO ESTRATÉGICO en la Organización? 2018:
- http://medinacasabella.blogspot.com.ar/2016/04/PENSAMIENTO-ESTRATEGICO-2017.html
- Curso Taller de PLANEAMIENTO ESTRATÉGICO - Recetas Eficientes para Escenarios Turbulentos 2018:
- http://medinacasabella.blogspot.com.ar/2016/04/PLANEAMIENTO-ESTRATEGICO-2017.html
- Curso Taller ¿Cómo Gerenciar Eficientemente a partir del MANAGEMENT ESTRATÉGICO? 2018:
- http://medinacasabella.blogspot.com.ar/2016/04/MANAGEMENT-ESTRATEGICO-2017.html
- Curso Taller ¿Cómo GERENCIAR PROCESOS DE CAMBIO y no sufrir en el intento? 2018:
- http://medinacasabella.blogspot.com.ar/2016/04/GESTION-DEL-CAMBIO-2017.html
- Curso Taller de LIDERAZGO TRANSFORMACIONAL para la Toma de Decisiones 2018:
- http://medinacasabella.blogspot.com.ar/2016/04/LIDERAZGO-TRANSFORMACIONAL-2017.html
Consultas al email: mamc.latam@gmail.com
.·. Dr. Miguel Ángel MEDINA CASABELLA, MSM, MBA, MHSA .·.
Especialista Multicultural Global en Management Estratégico, Conducta Organizacional, Gestión del Cambio e Inversiones, graduado en University of California at Berkeley y The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania)
Consultor en Dirección General de Cultura y Educación de la Provincia de Buenos Aires
Miembro del Comité EEUU del Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales
Representante de The George Washington University para LatAm desde 1996
Ex Director Académico y Profesor de Gestión del Cambio del HSML Program para LatAm en
The George Washington University (Washington DC)
The George Washington University (Washington DC)
CEO, MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS GROUP LatAm
Skype: medinacasabella
Twitter: https://twitter.com/medinacasabella
MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS GROUP LatAm ©
es una Consultora Interdisciplinaria cuya Misión es proveer
soluciones integrales, eficientes y operativas en todas las áreas vinculadas a:
Estrategias Multiculturales y Transculturales, Organizacionales y Competitivas,
Management Estratégico,
Gestión del Cambio,
Marketing Estratégico,
Proyectos de Inversión,
Gestión Educativa,
Capacitación
de Latino América (LatAm), para los Sectores:
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b) Universidades y Centros de Capacitación,
c) ONGs y Gobiernos.
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