I was going to start a new category "Best Practices" but I that is a dangerous thing. The moment some organization is pointed out as a "leader" or "best" it is bound to be the kiss of death. What happened to all those firms Tom Peter's wrote about in "In Search of Excellence or Jim Collin's "Built to Last"? Oh Really?
That said, it is interesting to read about what some high profile firms (and those that aren't) are doing to stay competitive, or successful or even change with the times. Here is one such case that is using 360 feedback processes.
Virgin Atlantic introduced a leadership development programme that was led by business objectives rather than HR processes, and fitted into the organisation's long-term goal of increasing profits by 7%. The leadership team started by identifying the traits it believed had made Virgin successful and followed this with a 360-degree appraisal of the management team's strengths and weaknesses.
What I find to be of interest in the article are the 11 steps that they have developed to guide them through the process. this is a systemic approach and that is how assessments should be used. Assessments are one tool in an overall program that is dynamic and and interdependent. I find that I take little exception to what they are doing in principle. Let's wait and see how successful they are at first the implementation and then the integration into the culture.
Guide to leadership development in 11 steps
- Understand the present and future context of the organisation and the sector in which it is operating.
- Know what you are going to require of your leaders in the future. This mean you need to focus on potential performance.
- Make sure any programme is tied into other company activities, such as secondments, mentoring, cross-functional working and masterclasses. It should mot be a standalone project or seen as solely an HR initiative.
- Involve existing leaders by asking them to describe current and future leadership challenges.
- Use a variety of development mechanisms. These might include group sessions and one-to-one work, experiential and paper-based activities, company projects, feedback and coaching.
- Develop a framework on which to build the design of the programme, such as leadership competencies or principles.
- Reflect company culture in the programme design. Make full use of the organisation's values and use the programme to bring them to life.
- Give participants the opportunity to voice their career aspirations.
- Wherever possible, involve line managers before, during and after the programme.
- Build personal development planning into the programme. Individuals rarely complete development plans after the momentum of the programme is lost.
- Carry out an evaluation of the programme at both a behavioural and results level through 360-degree appraisals (undertaken both before and after), surveys and performance data.
