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Why do some organizations have more effective leaders than others? Beyond the efforts of individual leaders to improve themselves and the leadership skills of those they lead, what do the best organizations do to develop strong leaders? In our experience, the following are some of the most significant characteristics of organizations that are effective at developing leaders.
They continually work to develop their leaders.
Successful organizations constantly encourage individuals to take personal responsibility for becoming effective leaders. These organizations, even under difficult economic conditions, provide significant opportunities for leadership development – both in terms of job opportunities these leaders are given, and in terms of formal development activities made available to these leaders.
They create a supportive leadership development climate.
The best organizations provide an environment where leaders are comfortable stepping out of their comfort zones to take on tough challenges – challenges that the leaders may not know, up front, how to address. The organization encourages them to be bold and to pursue stretch assignments. The organization also creates a “safety net” to support their leaders’ willingness to take on aggressive goals by limiting the consequences of failure.
They encourage their leaders to unleash the energy of others.
The best organizations make it clear that leadership has less to do with telling people what to do and more to do with discerning and drawing out what people are capable of doing. There is an energetic interplay between the organization’s current vision for the future and what leaders and others in the organization perceive as the full potential for the organization. There is openness to consider the possibilities people see to enhance the organization’s vision.
They fully capitalize on the different capabilities and strengths of each leader to promote high performance.
The best organizations encourage leaders to discover and develop their unique leadership styles. They acknowledge and value the styles of others, and collaboratively draw on of each leader’s strengths in the pursuit of shared goals.
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