Team Building Tips

The scenario is all too familiar: Everyone was convinced that Steve was the right choice for promotion into the Chief Operating Officer position. So why is he struggling so much? Fact is, if something doesn't change, and fast, he isn't going to make it. How could this have happened? How did we get it so wrong?

As a business leader, you have no doubt witnessed this scenario. It seems that the Peter Principle, which dictates that people will be promoted to their highest level of incompetence, is in full force. But is the Peter Principle the inevitable end-of-the-road for most business leaders?

The answer is a resounding no. The reality is that there are many things an organization can do to avoid the Peter Principle, and it's never too late to start.

It's a Whole New Ball Game

Being a leader is not easy. Leadership requires a totally different set of skills, distinct from those of the individual contributor. And as one advances in an organization, the expectations of how work gets done shifts dramatically. What's more, many new leaders find that the very skills that enabled them to land that coveted promotion into a leadership position don't seem to work anymore. In the absence of other skills to rely on, the only possible response is to just try more of the same. But this approach simply doesn't work, leading to frustration and failure.

Adding to this challenge is an all too common tendency - as leaders ascend an organization, their developmental feedback begins to dry-up. There is a natural, albeit inaccurate assumption that the leader has the skills they need (or else they wouldn't have landed the job in the first place, right?). Meanwhile, the performance bar is consistently being raised and the pressure to perform is ratcheted-up. It is no wonder that so many leaders fail.

The Costs of Failure

There are many negative cost consequences associated with leadership failures, including lost productivity, recruiting costs, ramp up time, missed opportunities, relocation expenses and most importantly, the loss of employee confidence. Taken to an extreme, the impact of bad leadership is catastrophic. Think no further than the once storied Arthur Anderson business which was singlehandedly torpedoed by the bad judgment of the Partner who served the Enron account. So how do you minimize leadership mistakes?

Develop Who You Have

The old expression "dance with who brung ya" rings true when it comes to selecting your future leaders. There is great power in developing the internal leader who knows your company and understands how to navigate the culture. An effective leadership development approach for your company should have a two-pronged focus:

1. Addressing overarching gaps

For example, if a company chose to strategically move to a new growth-by-acquisition model, it may find the need to enhance the financial acumen of its leaders. This development focus could be applied to all leaders.

2. Addressing individual needs

For example, a leader could be transferred to a different part of the company, requiring new functional knowledge and therefore requires specific development to be successful.

Whether addressing overarching or individual gaps, an effective leader development program should include the following steps:

1. Align to the business strategy

2. Assess the skills leaders will need to successfully execute the strategy

3. Evaluate your leadership group against the desired skills

4. Develop and apply development activities to address the gaps

5. Begin the cycle again

Your company's future depends on your leaders having the right skills to achieve the strategy and deliver against performance objectives. But way too often companies look at the effort, time and cost involved in developing and maintaining an effective leader development process and decide that they can't afford it. But without effective leaders, your ability to achieve results will be severely compromised and your business will quickly become irrelevant.

The bottom line: You can't afford not to develop your leaders.

Matthew Angello is the Founder and Principal of Bright tree Consulting Group. Bright Tree Consulting Group, LLC is a boutique firm that offers an array of highly personalized and effective coaching and consulting services for executives and companies seeking to unleash their potential, move their performance to the next level and prepare for future challenges. Our focus is on the development of pragmatic and actionable programs that are tailored to address the specific challenges and needs of the individual executive or company. http://www.brighttreecg.com