Develop More Leaders

What does it take to build a leadership culture? What I discovered when I wrote my book, Leaders Made Here, is that organizations not only desperately need a point-of-view on leadership, they also need a leadership culture. I define a leadership culture as a place in which…

Several coworkers around a conference table, listening to and watching a few of those coworkers making a presentation to the group.

What does it take to build a leadership culture? What I discovered when I wrote my book, Leaders Made Here, is that organizations not only desperately need a point-of-view on leadership, they also need a leadership culture. I define a leadership culture as a place in which leaders are routinely and systematically produced. In a leadership culture, it is not unusual when there is a surplus of qualified leadership candidates for an open position.

Building A Leadership Culture

As a leader, you are the architect of your organization’s culture. How do you ensure you’ll have the needed leaders to fuel your future success? The answer: Build a leadership culture.

Here are five keys to creating a leadership culture:

  1. Define it – Does your organization have an agreed upon definition of leadership? If not, that’s the starting point.
  2. Train it – Having a definition is critical, but insufficient on its own. Can your leaders deliver on your definition? Some can, I’m sure, but training is probably required – at least for emerging leaders. Leadership skills are not innate.
  3. Practice it – Do you give emerging leaders the opportunity to lead? Most of what leaders learn about leadership they learn from leading. Give them the chance to practice by actually letting them lead.
  4. Measure it – This can take many forms: performance reviews, 360 feedback, “Readiness for Next Opportunity.” Then there’s always the “9 Box,” popularized by G.E., which evaluates leaders on two dimensions – performance and alignment with organizational values. You can even measure participation in leadership training.
  5. Model it – If your existing leaders are not showing people what great leadership looks like in your organization, or if they aren’t working diligently to demonstrate the attributes outlined in your definition of leadership, none of the previous ideas will have much impact.

How deep is your leadership bench?

 

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Mark Miller

Mark Miller
Mark Miller is a Wall Street Journal and international best-selling author, communicator, and the former Vice President of High Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. Mark’s leadership journey at Chick-fil-A spanned 45 years, and today, he serves as the Co-Founder of Lead Every Day. Mark began writing almost twenty years ago, and with over one million books in print in more than twenty-five languages, his global impact continues to grow.

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