This month’s HR Hour was kindly hosted by Kevin Watson of My Own Coach Ltd.

As a leadership coach and facilitator, Kevin has spent over 20 years helping organisations unlock potential, build leadership capability, and drive meaningful change. 

Discussion points:

• Potential v. performance – how do we identify and develop our future leaders?
• The succession planning secret – what keeps talent from walking out of the door?
• Tomorrow’s leaders – what skills and qualities will matter most in the future?

Challenges

We had an interesting debate around how to distinguish between performance and potential. Too often we assume that an individual who is a high performer must be a future leader. However, that may not actually be the case as a managerial role requires a completely different skillset.  Another challenge can be that existing leaders feel threatened by subordinate team members showing great career growth potential. They may be guilty of sabotaging this talent rather than harnessing and developing it for the common good of the business. 

Kevin also shared some interesting statistics with the group.

Only 11% of organizations effectively identify high-potential employees, despite 73% of executives considering it a top priority (DDI Global Leadership Forecast, 2023). 78% of organizations rely primarily on current performance metrics to identify future leaders, yet studies show only a 30% correlation between current performance and future leadership success (Gartner HR Leadership Council, 2024). Organisations that use formal potential assessment methods are 4.1x more likely to have a strong leadership bench (Bersin & Associates, 2023).

70% of HR leaders say their leadership programmes aren’t preparing people for what’s next. (Gartner) Too often, succession planning is reactive, not proactive. Only 35% of organisations have a formal succession planning process for roles beyond the executive level (SHRM Succession Planning Survey, 2024).

In addition, Kevin recommended Timothy Gallwey as an interesting source of information about mastering the inner game of the mind. This includes interferences such as self-doubt, fear of failure, imposter syndrome etc

Suggestions:

The general consensus of the group was that managers need to spend more time talking to their team members to find out their career aspirations. Some employees may just be happy in their current role and not be seeking progression. Holding more 1:1 meetings and having an ‘open door policy’ for chats is the key to understanding each individual and their personal career goals. Frustrations can occur with staff who feel there are no promotion prospects within an organisation; this can often happen in smaller businesses where there are limited leadership roles. In these circumstances it’s still important to invest in those individuals and consider if additional learning or external courses would help to keep them engaged. It’s a well-known fact that Gen Z and Millennials can be a little impatient with career progression so we need to be mindful of this otherwise we will potentially lose great talent.

We need a shift in the mindset of leaders and an acceptance that learning should be a continual process and therefore should be embraced. The late Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. was a great believer that we should be seeking out those who are better than us as we need to tap into their knowledge.

In addition, using assessments such as Everything DiSC is a great way to identify potential within the workforce. It identifies an individual’s primary behavioural style and their needs. This type of assessment can be an extremely useful tool for businesses to facilitate conversations around career potential and personal aspirations.

Leadership skills for the future – agility and empathy:

We considered what leadership qualities are emerging as critical for the future. Agility skills will be essential for managers as we move forward in a world with rapidly advancing technology and AI. We may have existing staff members who are far better equipped to be future leaders in our fast-paced changing environment. We agreed that we can see a changing world of individuals and leaders who don’t necessarily have qualifications (which historically were so important) but they are hugely successful innovators and visionaries.

By 2028, 65% of leadership roles will require skills that aren’t emphasised in current development programs, such as digital fluency, agile thinking, and managing remote teams (World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report, 2023).

Another topical key management trait that is a requirement for leaders of the future is demonstrating empathy. The group felt that sometimes showing emotional intelligence could be viewed as patronising and condescending however as we are now in such a neurodiverse society, we need these skills in the workplace in order to harness the different strengths in a neurodiverse team.

83% of employees prefer leaders who demonstrate empathy and emotional intelligence, yet only 40% of current leadership development programs focus on these skills (DDI Global Leadership Forecast, 2023).

www.forbes.com/councils/forbescoachescouncil/2024/04/02/leading-with-empathy-in-times-of-change/

Lastly, a thought-provoking quote attributed to Peter Drucker who is a prominent management consultant and author:

Two managers are talking about their direct reports. One says: “What if we train them and they leave?” His colleague replies “What if we don’t train them and they stay?”

Details of the next #HRHour

#HR #FutureOfWork #HRTrends2025

We’ve been using DiSC and The Five Behaviors programmes with big name clients for a long time.

It’s been a total game-changer when it comes to getting everyone on the same page and enjoying their work.

The way it works is it starts from the top down – the leadership team goes through it first, leading by example, and then it’s rolled out to the rest of the organisation. It really helps everyone understand each other’s behavioural and communication styles and how to work together more effectively.

We’ve seen it make a huge difference in avoiding workplace sickness and burnout; people are just way happier and more engaged when they know how to collaborate well.

We all want to go to work happy 😊