Great leaders are a critical element of any successful business.
Whether it’s the implementation of a new policy, or communicating important information, our team leaders and managers are key to getting this right.
So where do we find these great leaders?
Some businesses look internally. Often promoting people because they are simply good at their job or in role for a long time. In these cases, little attention is given to leadership ability. This can set a cultural expectation around promotion and may result in people moving into roles which are not the right fit for them.
To be clear this is not the individual’s fault – many will see this as a natural next step up the career/pay scale. Once in role, it can be difficult to admit they are struggling or need extra support let alone consider a step back down to their previous role/pay.
External recruitment is an alternative route taken by some who acknowledge that they don’t have the right people within their internal talent pool. Whilst unavoidable, this approach can be time consuming and costly. It can also negatively impact the existing team who may feel undervalued or unable to see what progression opportunities there are for them.
The answer… proactive leadership development.
Planning ahead now for your future leadership needs could not only save you time and money but help you to nurture the right leadership qualities and have potential leaders ready when you need them.
This is the approach taken by Wincanton Screwfix as part of their ‘Aspire To Be’ programme’ launched 12 months ago.
The initiative was designed to provide aspiring managers with the development they need to prepare them for future management vacancies.
The programme, which was open to everyone, adopted a rigorous selection process to ensure only those who were serious and understood the commitment required got through to the final places.
It is important to point out these aspiring managers were not given any financial incentive to be on the programme or offered any guarantees of a role at the end of it. Success was dependent upon them taking personal responsibility to drive their own leadership development. This approach sent a clear message out to everyone about the behaviours and attitudes expected of their leaders.
During the initial stages attention was given to ensuring everyone involved was engaged and as enthusiastic as the delegates themselves. This included a selection process for the leaders and mentors who would support the individuals.
How it worked
Over the 12-month programme aspiring leaders would spend a proportion of their working time learning about the business and what it means to be a good leader.
They received training in all aspects of people leadership including time spent with HR to review case studies and receive coaching on how they would respond to certain situations.
They worked in different areas of the business to gain an all-round understanding of company operations including, Finance, Health & Safety and Stock Control.
Throughout their journey delegates took responsibility for documenting their development in a personal progress folder. They also received regular reviews with their manager, HR and mentor to discuss how they were progressing.
The success of the programme has been closely monitored by the initiators in HR whose pragmatic and flexible approach has allowed them to make improvement changes along the way.
HR Leader, Becky Millington said:
“As a site we had identified the need to grow our own future managers and the Aspire to Be programme has allowed us to focus on a small number of aspiring managers and dedicate time to their development.
There have been learnings along the way and we have changed our approach to the programme to maximise the opportunity for development and give our Aspire colleagues the best experience possible and ultimately a strong opportunity to secure a management role.
We will continue to build on the content of the programme for our 2024/2025 cohort and make improvements, embedding the Aspire to Be programme as part of our site culture.”
As the business is now nearing the end of the initial programme, the question to answer is ‘what next?’. Plans are already in place to provide ongoing mentorship for delegates to ensure this is not the end of the journey for these valuable members of the team.
Key Takeaways:
- Great leaders are fundamental to the success of any business.
- Just because someone is good at their job does not make them a great leader.
- External recruitment of leaders is time consuming, costly and can negatively impact engagement levels within the team.
- The time invested in proactive leadership development now will outweigh the effort to react to your leadership needs of the future.
If you would like to talk to us about leadership development or any other aspects of employee engagement please get in touch kaye@listentoyourteam.co.uk.
