Growing World Class Leaders
Building an organization of proactive change-makers
Every institution needs as many leaders as it can get—individuals who are able to catalyze change by mobilizing and equipping others to do more than anyone thought possible. Yet most organizations suffer from a self-inflicted leadership deficit. In a Fortune CEO survey, only seven percent of respondents said their companies were effective at developing global leaders, and only ten percent believed leadership training produced positive returns.
Like intelligence, creativity or athleticism, leadership talent is widely but unevenly distributed across the population. Leadership training can be helpful, but the real challenge is to create an organization where budding leaders have the chance to learn and grow. Nascent leaders often feel suffocated by bureaucracy and shackled by precedent. Feeling stymied, they either check out mentally, or (more likely), jump ship for an organization that offers them greater scope for impact.
To grow world-class leaders, an organization must (1) create more roles where individuals have charge of a real business; (2) give young leaders accountability for a genuine P&L and a meaningful financial upside; (3) flatten the pyramid; (4) push authority down’ (4) index careers and compensation by impact not rank; (6) give subordinates a bigger say in choosing their leaders; and (7) pair young leaders with experienced mentors.
Gary can help your organization vastly multiply its leadership capital.