Leadership is learned primarily by doing, with reinforcement from informal coaching and formal training. This article, adapted from Chapter 3 of Nonprofit Leadership Development: Whats Your “Plan A” for Growing Future Leaders?, distills this concept into the 70-20-10 model that a growing number of corporations and nonprofits are using to develop the potential leaders identified in their Plan As – their road maps to developing future leaders in their organizations. As its name suggests, the model calls for 70 percent on-the-job training, supplemented with 20 percent coaching and mentoring, and 10 percent formal training. (Find a more detailed discussion of the model in “The 70-20-10 Model.”)
Many nonprofits recognize the impact of on-the-job learning and offer their employees challenging assignments. In fact, 65 percent of respondents to Bridgespans diagnostic survey on leadership development agree or strongly agree that their organizations “have sufficient quality opportunities for employees to gain new leadership skills via on-the-job opportunities.” But it’s not clear that organizations and their employees are making the most of those opportunities. Only about 30 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree that “employees with the potential to move into leadership roles have development plans in place that identify areas for development and sources of development support.” These responses suggest that many nonprofits need a more systematic approach to leadership development, one tied to existing HR and performance management processes.
Follow the steps outlined below to weave leadership development into your organizations everyday activities using the 70-20-10 model. Doing this requires a team effort that includes the CEO and other senior leaders and line managers, who contribute to the organizations Plan A, as well as staff members, who play an active part in crafting their individual development plans. (See “Are You Effectively Developing Future Leaders?” to gauge where your organization stands in its efforts around leadership development.)
Organizations depend on strong leadership to guide them into the future But leaders aren’t born overnight – they require careful nurturing and development Investing in tomorrow’s leaders ensures your company has the talent and vision to evolve and prosper in a changing world,
This article explores key strategies for organizations to follow when developing future leaders within their ranks. Read on to learn how to cultivate the next generation of leadership superstars who will take your company to new heights.
Embracing a Growth Mindset
The first step is instilling a leadership growth mindset across your culture. Leadership potential lives within many employees, not just a pre-ordained few. Provide resources and training to help all promising candidates realize their capabilities. Set the tone that everyone can become a leader through concerted development.
Make leadership competencies like strategic thinking communication and change management open to all aspiring individuals. This mentality shift expands your leadership pipeline.
Identifying Emerging Leaders
Keep an eye out for standout performers primed for leadership. Look for demonstrated business acumen, emotional intelligence, inspirational qualities, and ambition.
Develop a nomination process for managers to recommend future leader candidates they see promise in. Continue monitoring front runners to discern their ongoing readiness.
Promising indicators include:
- Consistent excellence exceeding expectations
- Taking on unofficial leadership roles
- Eagerness for more responsibility
- Multi-departmental knowledge and influence
- Confidence tempered with humility
- Curiosity and learning agility
Providing Formal Leadership Development Programs
Formal training readies your raw talent for leadership responsibilities, Look to fortune 500 companies for proven curricula Common components include
Bootcamps – Intensive multi-day programs focused on mindsets, skills, and tools.
Coaching – Ongoing one-on-one coaching provides individualized guidance.
Mentorship – Pairing with seasoned leaders transfers wisdom.
Job rotations – Cross-training builds company-wide knowledge.
Special assignments – Short-term stretch assignments test abilities.
Coursework – Relevant books, videos, case studies, and lectures teach concepts.
Blend self-directed assignments with multi-month cohort programs for well-rounded development. Customize content to your company’s leadership competencies and knowledge areas critical for success.
Providing On-the-Job Learning
Real-world learning opportunities allow emerging leaders to translate theory into practice. Project leadership, presenting to executives, volunteering for committees, and leading cross-functional initiatives are all developmental.
Managers play a pivotal role in providing stretch assignments that expand capabilities in areas like:
- Strategic planning
- Budget oversight
- Team development
- Cross-collaboration
- Change management
- Presentation skills
Balance challenging assignments with coaching and support. Bite-sized development opportunities build competencies incrementally.
Measuring Progress and Growth
Assess participant progress throughout leadership development programs. Survey cohorts before, during and after training to gauge growth in mindsets, knowledge, and skills.
One-on-one coaching and mentor check-ins provide qualitative insights into their evolving leadership capabilities and areas needing work. Multi-rater feedback surveys assess changes in peers’ and direct reports’ perceptions.
Track indicators like employee engagement, productivity, and retention on teams led by emerging leader participants compared to company averages. This data helps quantify the impact of your leadership development investments.
Promoting from Within
As rising starts demonstrate preparedness, reward their efforts with advancement. Prioritize vacancies in managerial and executive roles for qualified program graduates. This incentivizes participation and retains developed talent.
Publicize promotions and success stories showing leadership training as a pathway to career progression. This spotlights your commitment to elevating top internal talent to motivate other high-potentials.
Partnering with Leadership Academies
Specialized leadership academies offer intensive development programs facilitated by industry veterans. Topical focus areas range from digital transformation to diversity and inclusion.
These 1-2 week immersive offsite experiences take high-potentials’ leadership capabilities to the next level through experiential learning. Outsourcing to seasoned academies lends external expertise.
Tapping Board and Investor Mentorship
Beyond internal resources, board directors and company investors provide invaluable mentorship. Their extensive leadership experience and external perspective helps rising talent see the bigger picture.
Set up mentorship programs that periodically rotate emerging leaders to engage with board and investor mentors. This provides unparalleled guidance from those most invested in your company’s future.
Fostering Internal Mentorships
Seasoned company leaders have wisdom to impart to developing mentees. Set up a mentor matching program that thoughtfully pairs high-potentials with experienced leaders for mutual benefit.
Meet regularly to establish development goals and monitor progress. This hands-on guidance accelerates applied learning and growth.
Funding Tuition Reimbursement
For broader leadership knowledge, offer tuition reimbursement for advanced degrees and executive education programs. Partnerships with respected institutions like Harvard and Kellogg School of Management provide world-class learning opportunities.
Support participation in selective programs that balance work commitments. This enables emerging leaders to learn from top faculty and peers in other industries.
Building a Leadership Culture
At the ground level, build a culture that propagates leadership qualities on a peer-to-peer basis. Foster collaboration, accountability, growth mindset, and leading by influence.
Empower employees to share knowledge and mentor colleagues. Praise those who go above and beyond to motivate and inspire team members. Doing so organically cultivates leadership behaviors at all levels.
Maintaining an Updated Talent Pipeline
The development process doesn’t end at promotion. Continually add promising employees into the leadership pipeline as others graduate upwards. Cast a wide net for diversity.
Provide lateral leadership opportunities like heading initiatives and specialist roles. This expands the pool of qualified successors to hedge against attrition and retirements.
Developing future leaders requires long-term commitment from both company and employee. The multi-pronged approach outlined here covers all aspects of nurturing talent strategically – from potential identification to tailored learning programs and workplace development.
Investing in tomorrow’s leaders yields a deep bench of capable successors for key roles. They represent the future health and progress of your organization. By making leadership development an ongoing priority backed by resources, you secure your company’s longevity and prosperity.
Step 1: Cultivate Talent Champions
Line managers are key players in the leadership development process. They work with high-potential leadership candidates every day and, assuming they follow the 70-20-10 model, oversee 90 percent of their development through on-the-job learning and individual coaching and mentoring. So the first task of senior leaders is to develop line managers into “talent champions” – a term we borrowed from the Corporate Leadership Council that denotes managers who recognize the vital importance of developing a cadre of potential leaders and take responsibility for preparing them to lead. The Corporate Leadership Council has found that in the corporate world, talent champions outperform their peers in meeting business goals, delivering an average of 6 percent higher revenue and 7 percent higher profits.¹ Its reasonable to think that talent champions can help nonprofits perform better, too.
But the Corporate Leadership Council also has found that only 19 percent of managers in the corporate world might be characterized as talent champions. (See “How many talent champions does your organization have?” for more details.) And in our interviews with senior nonprofit leaders, many noted a wide variation in their own managers ability to effectively develop others. But there are ways that your organizations CEO and senior leaders can promote a wider commitment to talent championship in their organizations. One of the most powerful ways is to visibly recognize talent champions for their success. This type of soft accountability or peer pressure can have an even greater impact than formal job requirements, particularly when recognition is coupled with coaching and training in areas where managers are struggling.
Support is especially important when working with first-time managers or managers making the transition from managing individuals to managing groups. Their prior experiences may not have prepared them to think of themselves as talent developers, and they may require help in changing their work habits and time allocations to make room for their new responsibilities. Focusing support and development efforts on individuals transitioning into managerial work can pay big dividends in the future, as first-timers acquire leadership development skills – and the leadership development mind-set – at the same time that theyre learning the other skills they need in their new jobs.
Step 2: Identify Organizational Needs and Craft Development Opportunities
The work of identifying the competencies that your future leaders need to develop flows naturally from the planning process discussed in “Three Steps to Understanding Your Nonprofits Future Leadership Needs,” where we discussed how your organization can zero in on the competency gaps it faces by conducting a talent review and preparing a Plan A. Once you have identified the gaps, you and your senior leadership team can study the organizational calendar and pinpoint the special projects, cross-cutting initiatives, board presentations, and other opportunities for future leaders to gain practical experience.
The key is to identify activities that your organization already performs. The day-to-day work of your organization offers ample opportunity to put your rising stars in leadership situations, at little cost and with minimal disruption to your operations. You could assign a leadership candidate to make a presentation to your board or to important stakeholders, for example, or place several candidates on a cross-functional task force. Whatever the assignment, the Corporate Leadership Council recommends that, for maximum effectiveness, the opportunities involve four elements:
- Discomfort – Assignments should take candidates out of their comfort zones and call on skills other than those they have already mastered.
- Accountability – Candidates must take ownership of their assignments and be held responsible for the results of their work.
- Clarity – The lesson the assignment is intended to teach should be clear to the candidate.
- Relevance – Each assignment should teach a skill or competency that a leadership candidate needs in his or her current role, as well as in roles s/he may play in the future.
Six Trends Shaping Future Leaders
How to improve leadership development?
You can use various tools and methods to evaluate and improve your leadership development, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, tests, assessments, and analytics. You can also use feedback and coaching from your employees, peers, managers, and external experts to enhance your leadership development.
How do you develop future leaders?
Below are some examples of practices you could implement to develop future leaders: Create a mentorship program: Consider pairing each new hire with a more experienced employee who can help them learn about the company and develop their strengths.
How do you develop a well-rounded leader?
Below is a list of nine steps to help you develop well-rounded leaders: 1. Recognize people with leadership potential Leaders in the workplace exhibit a lot of traits, like being empathetic about their colleagues, passionate about their work and committed to the company’s goals.
Should you develop leadership skills?
Developing leadership skills takes time, and it can be costly to your company. However, it’s an investment in the future of your organization and one which you’ll reap the benefits of for years to come. At BetterUp, we love helping new leaders grow and transform.
