LEADERSHIP IMPROVEMENT

Ultimately, leaders bring together both individuals and organisations to solve customer problems. However, there is a difference between leaders and leadership. Leaders refers to individuals who have unique abilities to guide behaviours of others. Leadership refers to an organisation's capacity to build future leaders. An individual leaders matters, but an organisation's matter more over time. Looking forward HR professionals will need to not only help individual leaders be more effective through coaching, 360 feedback and individual development plans, but build leadership depth by investing in leadership development.

We have identified things HR professionals can do to advance the quality of leadership.

1) Build the business case for leadership:

HR can show that the quality of leadership will drive performance both inside and outside the organisation. Organisation with leadership depth will have the capacity to respond to changing business conditions, execute strategy, increase investor confidence and anticipate customer requirement.

2) Outline leadership effectiveness from the outside/in:

Consistent with logic of creating value for external stakeholders. HR can help define what makes an effective leadership from the outside/in. Often leadership success remains either inside the company (leaders learn from other leaders in the company who have been successful) or inside the individual. In the future, the criteria for leadership should start with a focus on customers.

3) Assess Leaders:

Once leadership standards are set, leaders need to be assessed on how well they meet those standards. With an external view, leadership 360 may expand to 720 or even 1440 - where customers, suppliers, communities, regulators or other external stakeholders may be included in assessing targeted leaders. HR professionals charged with leadership assessment may monitor the ability of current and aspiring leaders to serve customers.

4) Invest in leadership:

The traditional formula for leadership investment has been 80-20-10: that 80 to 90% of learning and development is on leadership in redefining the goals and restructuring the function. Investments in HR increases an organisational reputation within the community through aligning not only with strategy but with external stakeholders.