Career and Leadership Development Flashcards
Orgs with high quality leaders are more likely to outperform their competition in what?
- key bottom-line metrics such as financial performance
- employee retention
- having highly-engaged leaders
- great workplace engagement
Why should senior leaders have a key role in designing a leadership development program?
They set the org’s vision, mission, and direction
Leadership development begins by engaging senior leaders from the start on what 3 topics?
- the organization’s readiness
- corporate drivers for increasing leadership development
- leadership’s values and beliefs about leadership development
What does leadership development benefit an organization?
It aligns L&D initiatives to its mission, goals, and performance expectations
6 key factors that distinguish orgs with successful leadership development programs
- Future-focused: leadership development programs are strategically driven and focus on skills required for future success
- Leadership responsibility: sr managers are fully engaged and recognize leadership gaps as an obstacle to executing strategy; leaders engage in periodic reviews to enable agile development and address changing needs over time, including the possibility of a co-created competency model
- Leadership quality: orgs recognize the importance of having a pipeline of experienced, high-quality leaders to fill positions and they value succession planning (linked to the selection process)
- Results oriented: Orgs institute standards and establish, track, measure, and evaluate goals
- Value L&D: orgs value L&D for everyone, not just leaders; a learning org that begins development early
- Long-term, aligned system approach: Orgs align the LD program with other aspects and take a systemic approach to developing leaders prepared to cope with challenges of the future
What is the relationship between corporate drivers and LD program success?
Focusing on how LD supports the org’s strategy will help define how LD supports corporate drivers and the org’s vision, mission, and goals.
Leaders should articulate what defines success and how it will be measured.
What are some values and beliefs that may be uncovered from sr. leadership about LD and help focus the direction?
- Who should have access - everyone or only high potential employees?
- When should it begin - upon employment or only after an employee has spent a certain amount of time in the org?
What are 3 key success factors for LD programs?
- optimizing formal and informal learning by integrating it into daily work
- attending to org design and managerial processes first and then supporting them with org development tools such as coaching and classroom/online education
- The overall org and its systems, policies, and processes sustain desired LD behaviors
TD professionals can begin analysis for program design after they have what?
- Org’s desired results
- Understanding of how its leadership views LD
What is the first step in analysis for LD program design?
Comparing current leadership behaviors against desired leadership behaviors to uncover the gap
Future-focused orgs should ensure that their LD programs are what?
Strategically driven
What are 5 questions that would help TD professional uncover future leadership requirements?
- Top 3 business issues in the next 10 years?
- External changes (technology, competition, regulatory, industry, demographic) and internal changes (employee base, strategy, and product line) will alter the leadership requirements?
- Emerging issues and problems that require unique leadership skills? How well prepared are we for them?
- How will leadership competencies need to change to meet the future need?
- What attributes will be lost in upcoming retirements?
What are the 8 steps in order for designing and building leadership development experiences?
- Discussions with leaders to understand their views on leadership and their desired results
- Needs analysis to understand skill/competency gaps
- Clarify the purpose and establish the goals (programmatic, interim, outcome), which enable evaluation and measurement
- Determine fundamental design features, such as:
- 4a. overall program design and design issues
- 4b. content design such as specific skills that should be targeted and
- 4c. delivery alternatives such as formal/OTJ/external - Design a blended leadership development experience
- Candidate eligibility, referral, and selection
- Establish promotion criteria to identify high potentials
- Create a process to sustain and evaluate the program
What are the 4 types of LD program goals?
- Operational or programmatic goals - related to the details required to start and implement
- Interim goals - indicators of final goals and progress to the end result of completing the program
- Outcome goals - based on the needs of the org and expectations of senior leaders and measure the results an initiative has on org goals
- Process goals - helps to achieve other, bigger goals
The date by which a LD program will be deployed is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Operational/programmatic
Progress on specific LD competencies is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Interim
Increase internal mobility promotions by 10% is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Outcome
All participants leading a book discussion twice is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Interim
Reducing turnover is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Outcome
Identification of all eligible employees is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Operational/programmatic
Participants completing a 360 feedback assessment is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Interim
An increase in hiring diverse people leaders is an example of which kind of LD program goal?
Outcome
When determining content design features, address the skills and knowledge that the organization requires to reach its goals.
What are some examples of executive skills that could be included in a program?
Results orientation
Change leadership
Market understanding
Strategic focus
Collaboration and influence
Team leadership
Developing organizational capabilities
When determining content design features, address the skills and knowledge that the organization requires to reach its goals.
What are some examples of future-forward executive skills that could be included in a LD program?
Leading through complexity and ambiguity
Leading remotely
Managing humans and machines
The organization’s most important values/priorities
Two inputs for LD content design
- Skills and knowledge from the gap analysis
- Future competency requirements of the organization
Content stage: If an org culture doesn’t currently place enough value on accountability, is this a skill identified from a gap analysis or is it a future competency?
Skill identified from a gap analysis
Content stage: If an org doesn’t have the skills necessary to use data and analytics to predict future trends, is this a skill identified from a gap analysis or is it a future competency
Future competency
What are the 3 types of LD program delivery options?
- Formal leadership development courses
- On the job experiences
- External development
Delivery options: Committee assignments, job rotations, and interim appointments are an example of what type of LD delivery?
On the job experiences
Delivery options: Taking a college course or participating in a certification program are examples of what type of LD delivery?
External development
Delivery options: Completing a virtual course or a self-study course is an example of what type of LD delivery?
Formal leadership development
Delivery options: A stretch assignment is an example of what type of LD delivery?
On the job experience
Delivery options: Mentoring and coaching, getting a 360 degree review, or shadowing a leader is an example of what type of LD delivery?
On the job experience
Delivery options: Receiving a tuition-reimbursed degree is an example of what type of LD delivery?
External
Delivery options: Participating in a professional association is an example of what type of LD delivery?
On the job experience
Delivery options: Community volunteerism is an example of what type of LD delivery?
External
Designing blended learning: These experiences could include a list of annual recommended courses, short-term projects or processes, stretch opportunities with feedback, learning through hardships, or mentoring
Semi-structured
Structured
Highly-structured
Structured
Designing blended learning: These experiences could include a book discussion for a community of leaders, debriefing a speaker’s message as a group, watching videos, observing meetings, or enrolling in internal and external courses based on a list of recommended courses
Semi-structured
Structured
Highly-structured
Semi-structured
Designing blended learning: These experiences could include a multi-year curriculum, job rotation programs, international job assignments, a loaned executive program (volunteering in a nonprofit to broaden leadership skills), and external coaching
Semi-structured
Structured
Highly-structured
Highly-structured
What is a key benefit for leaders to a variety of learning experiences?
Broadens their exposure to other leaders, issues, and styles across an organization
Employees should be assessed not just for their current competencies, but what else?
Their potential to learn from experience and development
Leadership placement isn’t just about finding the most talented employee for the job; it’s about finding who can be stretched and developed for the next challenge.
4 questions TD professionals should ask when using experience for leader development
- Which experiences matter and what will be learned?
- Who should have which relevant experience?
- How can employees be moved across department and location lines effectively?
- How can leaders ensure that the correct lessons are learned?
What is one sustainable way an org can inform who an LD program candidate can be?
By maintaining a current and active succession plan
Which type of nomination system helps expand diversity in an org’s leadership ranks:
- Eligibility based on performance
- Eligibility based on tenure
- Candidate referrals
Candidate referral system
What are some examples of candidate nomination options?
Candidate referral system
Self-nomination
Eligibility based on tenure
Eligibility based on promotion
Nomination by a supervisor or credible source
Requirement to participate in first 12 months
What should be included in a candidate referral system?
Application
Supporting documentation
Deadlines
Required approvals
Supervisory signatures
What are some ways a LD program selection process can be fair and accurate?
-Weighted evaluation of applications
- Assessment instruments
- Interviews with a selection committee
- Committee assessment
How might selection happen at higher levels of the organization?
- nomination by a manager
- cumulative data from performance management systems or past talent review discussions
- individual assessments and custom developmental plans based on their outcomes
- participation in an assessment center exercise
- behavior or structured interviews
Formally identifying high potentials makes you less like to ________
Lose valuable people
High potentials are defined as:
consistent superior performers and have the potential and the desire to develop and succeed more effectively in the organization than other employees
If HiPos don’t have this, they could fail to advance professionally
The opportunity to develop the skills they require for future promotions
Criteria for high potentials
- defined high potential behaviors and achievements, based on transparent, objective performance assessments
- Focus on potential, not past performance
- alignment with organizational values and culture
- ability to build strategic partnerships and influence others
- ability to build teams and lead them to success
- capacity to deal with pressure, adversity, and setbacks with poise
5 topics addressed during a LD program review
- Leadership succession plan: gaps in key areas or predictions for outside talent recruitment
- Leadership development requirements: changes in future competencies and trends in development requirements
- Future planning for increases in diversity or reviewing what has changed
- Review recommendations for new candidates, including their readiness and commitment, as well as organizational needs
- Operational discussions to review the budget and whether progress is on target
3 examples of evaluation methods for LD programs
- Kirkpatrick’s 4 Levels of Evaluation: Reaction, Learning, Behavior Change, Business Results
- Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Method: identifying most and least successful cases in a program and examining them in detail
- The Phillips ROI Methodology: Converting business impact measures to monetary values; 6 levels (Kirkpatrick’s + ROI + intangible measures)
What is the difference and similarity between interim and outcome goals?
Interim goals measure progress within a program; outcome goals measure how the program helps with external progress toward org goals.
Both are aligned to the org’s mission and vision statement.
What does it mean for a LD program to be future-focused?
competencies must be aligned to mission, needs, culture, and strategic goals and not generic
Leadership gaps/competency gaps are not important in a future-focused LD program
What are 6 ways an LD program can take a long-term, aligned, systematic approach for a LD program?
- Integrate learning from a variety of different methods
- Engage senior leaders with the program
- Align curriculum with scaffolded competency development schedule
- Self-assessment, alignment with IDP and PAS tools, reinforcement through coaching and mentoring
- Effectiveness is measured through session evals, pre-and post-program 360 feedback, participant inclusion in succession planning, and career progression
- Enhancements are made through agile process
3 components to determining design features of an LD program
- Overall program design - 8 common design issues to work through
- Content - what skills and competencies will be addressed during in the content?
- Delivery alternatives -formal LD courses, OTJ training, external development
What are 8 common LD program design issues?
- Who is eligible to participate, and how will high-leadership potentials be identified and selected?
- Who will champion the program and what administration is required?
- How will success be measured?
- What is the leadership’s responsibility?
- What is the tuition reimbursement policy?
- What opportunities will be available for leadership development candidates?
- How will leadership development align with other development efforts?
- How does the leadership development program complement other initiatives such as succession planning?
