The Mercer survey Future of Talent Management Survey for Asia Pacific July 2010 found that leadership succession tops the list of talent management priorities over the next three to five years.
The survey received close to 500 responses through Asia Pacific, with 87% of businesses planning changes in leadership training. 48.3% considered leadership succession one of their top three priorities.
“It’s no surprise that leadership tops the list of priorities,” said Brenda Wilson, Asia Pacific Leader of Mercer’s Talent Management Consulting. “The impact leaders have on business success and organisational effectiveness is huge, and right now organisations are not sure that they have the quantity and quality of leaders they will need for the future.”
Leadership is critical to any business’ functioning well today and having clear direction for tomorrow. You know who the leaders are in your business today but it’s also important to know that there are people coming up in the organisation behind you who can take up the leadership challenges emerging in five years’ time. It’s a key part of your succession plan.
Of course, leadership is just part of a bigger picture in human resources.
There are a number of key points to consider. An Australian survey of business concerns of 2010 identified the following over the next five years:
- skills shortages will increase in critical roles and industries
- staff turnover will be a significant cost and
- leadership development will be the main priority for employers
The third forecast, if seriously implemented from top management down, will critically influence and minimise the negative effects of skills shortages and staff turnover.
‘The successful leaders of today must understand that their power rests with the people for whom he/she is responsible. To tap that power, the leader must abandon the old baggage of dominance, control and self centredness’.
- Don Argus, BHP Billiton Chairman, The Australian, 25 March 2010
Managers and supervisors who are good leaders know how to retain staff by creating the environment in which people and teams normally work together to efficiently and effectively achieve common goals. They also understand that, like good health, good leadership is preventative in that it greatly lessens the ‘illness’ of a negative workplace occurring in the first place.
Unfortunately, whereas it is difficult to convince managers that leadership development is an investment in ‘preventative medicine’ many are willing to pay for cures by having managers and supervisors attend conflict resolution training which is focused on trying to remedy the problems after the ‘illness’ has done its damage.
Build a profile of the leadership skills of your supervisory and management staff, e.g. managers, superintendents, supervisors, team leaders, foremen, or equivalent, who have authority over others in an organisation. Identify if there are any gaps at key points in the organisation. Is it time to start thinking about your business’ leadership profile in terms of leadership development or recruitment? Call us if you would like to discuss this in more detail.