accel5

Business Book Summaries

Accelerated Leadership
Development
How to Turn Your Top Talent into Leaders
Ines Wichert
©2018 by Ines Wichert
Adapted by permission of Kogan Page Limited
ISBN: 978-0-7494-8305-0
Estimated reading time of book: 4–5 hours

Key Concepts
• Organizations are facing talent shortages and a world that’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.
These trends are driving the need for accelerated leadership development.
• Accelerated leadership development moves employees into high-visibility positions where they can culti-
vate new skills and knowledge. Exposure to a broad range of experiences is essential for this type of pro-
gram to be successful.
• As much as 70 percent of leadership development results from experiential learning, which includes learning
on the job or through graduate programs, stretch assignments, “secondments,” shadowing, and more.
• When unmanaged, accelerated leadership development can result in pitfalls such as employee burnout,
fear of failure, and unrealistic expectations.
• Organizations can reduce the risks of accelerated leadership programs by assigning people to the right
roles, selecting the right candidates for leadership development programs, and implementing monitoring
systems.

Introduction
Talented leaders help their organizations grow, respond to crises, and maintain a competitive advantage in
today’s fast-paced business environment. To cultivate these individuals, many companies are launching acceler-
ated leadership development programs. In Accelerated Leadership Development, Ines Wichert explores the
issues related to these programs such as scaling the initiatives and generating a return on investment.

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Accelerated Leadership Development Ines Wichert

Tomorrow’s Leaders
Two major issues are driving the demand for accelerated leadership development: a shortage of leadership talent
and new leadership requirements generated by today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.

Tomorrow’s leaders must exhibit the following characteristics:

• Emotional intelligence.
• A willingness to work in environments that are ambiguous and risky.
• Curiosity.
• The desire to engage in reflective learning.
• Accountability.
• Collaborative workstyles.
When people think of accelerated leadership development programs, they usually envision offerings that are
targeted at a small number of high-potential employees. However, accelerated leadership development must
also include self-service components that can support the rest of the workforce. This hybrid approach balances
both cost and access.

The goal of accelerated leadership development is to move employees into high-visibility positions or projects
where they can cultivate new skills and knowledge. This usually requires them to move out of their comfort
zones.

Moving at Pace Exposure to a broad

Research has found that the path to executive positions can be accelerated range of experiences
when four factors exist. Individuals must: and roles is essential
1. Have innate abilities, including intellect, drive, and agility. for accelerated lead-
2. Have access to the right roles and opportunities. ership development.
3. Be able to tap into the right support networks.
4. Be identified early and cultivated.
Exposure to a broad range of experiences and roles is essential for accelerated leadership development. Breadth
helps individuals become more agile in the face of volatility. It also provides them with organization-wide per-
spectives.

Since leadership development for high potentials can be expensive, many organizations use career manage-
ment programs to help employees take charge of their professional development and career trajectories.
Common career management programs typically rely on e-learning.

Breadth of Experience
Organizations may assess their high-potential employees’ development needs through performance evalu-
ations, 360-degree feedback, and psychometric profiling. To help individuals develop broader experiences,
companies often offer them critical job assignments. For example, emerging leaders may need experience
working internationally, addressing problems, managing organizational change, working in different functional
areas of their businesses, or managing people.

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Accelerated Leadership Development Ines Wichert

In Wichert’s research, most HR leaders indicated that international experi-

A key aspect of ence is the most critical job assignment for up-and-coming leaders; however,
international assignments are often difficult to execute successfully. Many
leadership develop- employees leave expat assignments early. Even when employees complete
ment is experiential global assignments, it’s common for some to leave their companies within a
learning. Experts year of returning to their home countries.
have found that as
Projects requiring turnaround expertise are typically assigned to high-poten-
much as 70 percent tial employees who are more advanced in their careers. Success depends upon
of leadership devel- change management expertise, leadership skills, and personal resilience. Effec-
opment comes from tive leaders address immediate problems, their associated people issues, and
this form of on-the- underlying process concerns.
job training.
Learning on the Job
A key aspect of leadership development is experiential learning. Experts have found that as much as 70 percent
of leadership development comes from this form of on-the-job training. Effective experiential learning has four
phases:

1. A concrete experience.
2. Reflective observation.
3. Abstract conceptualization.
4. Active experimentation.
Employees can take advantage of experiential learning in the following ways:

• Graduate programs. These are usually targeted at new university graduates or early career employees. Many
graduate programs are based on six- to nine-month rotations that expose participants to different parts of
the organization.
• Stretch assignments. These are commonly used with individuals in mid-level management positions. Stretch
assignments typically last two to three years, but aren’t part of a formal program.
• “Secondments.” These assignments to other organizations are used frequently in the public sector. Second-
ments give leaders the opportunity to see different business models and work environments.
• Shadowing. Learning from others is the least disruptive way to learn on the job.
Successful leadership development programs must be connected to an organization’s current and future busi-
ness strategy. If an organization selects employees for accelerated leadership development programs, it must
also include them in the company’s succession plan.

Navigating the Pitfalls of Acceleration

When employees are on an accelerated leadership development path, they often change roles every 18 months
to three years. This fast pace of change can result in burnout and other challenges. Organizations must be cog-
nizant of work-life balance issues and recognize how much stretch is appropriate for each new role that an
employee accepts. Regular reviews and formal opportunities for employee reflection are effective methods for
generating information and insights.

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Accelerated Leadership Development Ines Wichert

Another pitfall related to accelerated leadership development is the fear of failure. Stretch roles naturally
increase the risk that employees will make mistakes. Organizations must cultivate cultures where it’s okay to fail
and people can reflect on their experiences and learn from them.

Speeding along the path to advancement may also make it difficult for employees to become well-rounded
leaders. Leadership development must include building people skills and ensuring that employees can see the
impact of their decisions on their organizations.

High-potential leaders naturally receive a lot of attention. This can lead to a sense of entitlement and unrealistic
expectations about advancement. Organizations should be clear about what employees will experience during
accelerated leadership development programs. In addition, other employees may feel resentment toward high
potentials. This underscores the importance of establishing clear criteria about what’s required to join the high-
potential leader pool.

Successful Risk-Taking
Investing in accelerated leadership development represents an important risk for organizations: There’s no
guarantee that the selected employees will reach their full potential. In addition, they may incur failures along
the way. Despite these dangers, organizations simply can’t afford to ignore leadership development. The busi-
ness world is very dynamic, and relying on leaders with yesterday’s skill sets is a recipe for disaster.

Organizations can use three methods to promote more successful risk-taking related to accelerated leadership
development:

1. Assign people to the right roles. Start by assigning high potentials to small- Organizations must
er-scope roles that are located in less prominent parts of the business. learn from mistakes,
With well-established roles, it’s easier to recognize trouble early. Tempo-
share those learnings,
rary assignments are also a good way for people to try new roles.
and look for patterns
2. Select the right candidates for accelerated leadership development. Early as-
of failure.
signments can indicate whether individuals have leadership potential or
not. Psychometric assessments are another way to evaluate potential.
3. Implement monitoring systems and processes to reduce the risk of accelerated leadership development. Senior
leaders may need incentives to give emerging leaders stretch assignments. It’s also helpful to maximize the
return from failures. Organizations must learn from mistakes, share those lessons, and look for patterns of
failure.

Reflective Learning
Reflective learning helps emerging leaders gain insights from their experiences and then modify their behaviors
in the future. Lessons learned through reflection can improve an organization’s competitive advantage. They
can also enhance a leader’s emotional intelligence.

Reflection may be done independently. Alternatively, high-potential employees may reflect alongside others,
either in pairs or groups. Typically, organizations face three common hurdles related to reflective learning: time
pressure, insufficient encouragement, and an understanding of how to reflect effectively. These obstacles can
be overcome through robust HR processes, good role models, and cultures that value learning.

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Accelerated Leadership Development Ines Wichert

Supportive Environments
Support can take four different forms:

1. Approval support. Feedback helps emerging leaders with self-evaluation. It also enables them to develop
their skills more rapidly.
2. Instrumental support. This reduces the stress associated with taking on new roles. Instrumental support may
be tailored for individual leaders or it may be part of a packaged program available to many. Examples of
instrumental support include courses that target areas where the leader needs further development, as well
as access to mentors or coaches.
3. Informational support. This takes the form of advice, guidance, and access to helpful and appropriate infor-
mation.
4. Emotional support. Trusted colleagues are often a source of support and care for emerging leaders. Support-
ive workplace relationships enhance a person’s resilience and reduce the likelihood of burnout.
Mentors that provide career support, such as sponsorship, coaching, or exposure within organizations, have a
greater influence on emerging leaders’ careers than mentors who provide psychosocial support. In addition,
research has found that informal mentoring relationships tend to be more effective than the formal matching
of mentors and mentees.

HR teams play an important role in accelerated leadership development within organizations. They must take
responsibility for the scaffolding that supports professional development. Scaffolding includes access to train-
ing, maintaining development plans, matching mentors and mentees, and helping high-potential employees
find stretch assignments and coaching.

Research has found Women’s Careers

that women progress Research has found that women progress more slowly to senior roles than
more slowly to senior men. As women move from middle management roles to senior management,
roles than men. As many hit what has been termed the glass ceiling. Bias and childcare are two
major barriers that hinder women’s professional progress. Many organizations
women move from
offer women reduced or flexible working hours. This is helpful for maintaining
middle management their work-life balance, but it doesn’t help with professional advancement. In
roles to senior man- addition, many people suffer from the “think manager–think male” bias.
agement, many hit
The top three drivers of women’s career progress are critical job assignments,
what has been termed politically astute networking, and seeking opportunities that may also be
the glass ceiling. risky. Accelerated leadership development is more likely to work for women
who have access to career-enhancing stretch roles. Providing access to the
right networks and mentors is also beneficial. With regard to bias and selection decisions, HR teams can conduct
awareness training about unconscious bias. They can also use multiple objective measures to assess employees’
potential and evaluate interview responses anonymously.

Millennials
The Millennial generation is defined as people born between 1981 and 2000. Although the media has character-
ized Millennials as being less loyal to employers and more likely to be entitled than other demographic groups,
research has found few differences between generations.

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Accelerated Leadership Development Ines Wichert

When it comes to leadership, Millennials exhibit three key ambitions:

1. They want to lead and make a difference. Nearly half of Millennials indicate that they want to become leaders.
They’re attracted to higher earnings, the chance to shape their organizations, and opportunities to address
strategic challenges. Organizations can give Millennials early exposure to leadership through shadowing,
action learning, and agile work structures that support distributed decision making.
2. They want accelerated leadership development. Since tailored programs are only available for a limited num-
ber of employees, high-potential Millennials must assume responsibility for driving their own career devel-
opment. Lateral moves can form the foundation for more senior roles. Regular feedback is also important so
that Millennial employees can modify their behaviors and become effective more rapidly.
3. They want clarity about their next career moves. As Millennials take charge of their professional development,
they may need guidance in the areas of career exploration, setting career goals, and creating career strate-
gies. An organizational best practice is to establish global Millennial development strategies.

About the Author

Ines Wichert is an occupational psychologist and has been working in HR consulting for over 15 years advis-
ing global organizations on their talent issues. She’s the founder and managing director of TalUpp, a leadership
development consultancy that uses mobile technology and face-to-face solutions to help organizations develop
the next generation of leaders. Wichert previously ran the Diversity & Inclusion Centre of Excellence for IBM’s
Smarter Workforce in Europe.

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