The talent shoreline has changed. Developing leaders standing where you used to stand doesn’t work anymore. Waiting for the tide to come back in isn’t going to happen, because the shore line moved out. You are standing, waiting and meanwhile the weeds are growing up around you while you sink in the mud. You are holding on to your old mindset and its only weighing you down further. Your competition has moved down to the new shoreline. You are frustrated. But, if you want to catch fish, you have to go where they are. They aren’t where you are anymore.
There are some common mistakes leaders make in development today, especially the next generation of leaders. Development is never accidental or casual. Development is an intentional and critical system. Development is not natural, decay is natural. So, assuming that people will develop because they are present, working hard and seem to be listening is a mistake. You must intentionally engage in the development process and activate a development system.
Every system doesn’t have to look the same. A leadership development system is reflective of the leader guiding it, thus leadership systems will look different. But, one commonality is that the system will actually produce and develop new leaders. Let me say this as well, not every person you are trying to develop into a leader will work out. But that’s not an excuse to keep having the same failures and making the same mistakes.
Frequent Failures Leaders Make Today:
Failure to construct a system for new leaders to develop in. With what and who we are dealing with today, a leadership development structure is absolutely essential to facilitate the maturation of new leaders. Millennials and Centinnials need structure in all that they do–including steps to grow as a leader. Organizations and leaders who realize this and create a platform are attracting and winning the top talent. Leaders of organizations must invest time, resources and energy into a structure that engages and guides the next generation through development. If you leave the next generation working for you to “figure out for themselves” (because that’s what we did), the only thing they will figure out is how fast they are going to leave you.
Failure to have a leadership strategy. Yes, you actually need to have a leadership strategy. No war is won without a strategy. We are in this War for Talent. And guess what? The Millennials won. There are 82 millions Millennials and only 63 million Gen. Xers and 72 million Baby Boomers. There are more Millennials and they had the weight to fundamentally alter the way we think, the systems we use and where we will work. The work still has to get done, but we are now in the aftermath of the war. This is called reconstruction. You must have a strategy, because your competitors do. A leadership strategy is a plan that systematically recruits, retains, develops and releases leaders.
Failure to launch. The point of your leadership development system is to launch these new leaders out. Now, what is actually counter-intuitive is that when you talk about departure and launch, these next-gen leaders actually seem to stay in your organization longer. But, if you aren’t willing to launch new leaders away from your organization, you become an unattractive organization. Be willing to create a system that has a launch point for your leaders. In today’s talent pool, creating a system that celebrates the launch and promotes the launch and looks forward to launch is actually becomes highly attractive for the top talent.
Failure to recognize the cost. The cost of development requires more than ever before. Many leaders today are applying the same mindset around development and cost. Grooming people who will “one day” be ready to be a leader simply doesn’t happen at the rate it once did. Those days are gone. Developing leaders is like fishing. The fish still bite, but the gear, the equipment and getting to the fishing hole cost more, often significantly more. Just as egos have inflated, the cost to develop leaders has inflated as well. You can not like it, you can not accept it, but this will not help you recruit, retain, develop and launch new leaders. You are going to have to spend more. This is why a strategy is so important, otherwise you will fail to see the return you desire.
Failure to invest. Investment means you are addressing risk. There is a risk in releasing your resources to the unknown. However, you must be willing to invest in new methods, new ideas and new processes in your leadership development strategy. You must not only have new hooks in the water, but new nets and new divers! The good news today is that a little goes a long way with millennials. You don’t have to invest extravagant sums, but you need greater frequency. Next gen leaders need more access to the top leadership. 
Failure to create a leadership network. A network is part of the strategy, its not the strategy. A network by definition is a group of interconnected people. Your leaders are already way more connected than you realize. They connect with everyone. Many leaders today fail to engage these systems of connectivity. Create a leadership network of past leaders, present leaders and future leaders. Every leadership system today should look at the value of an alumni network. Viewing your leaders that left you as assets as opposed to simply absent, will engage the sense of value in your whole system. They already stay connected with those in your organization. Alumni can become some of your best advocates, promoters and recruiters.
Failure to see themselves as a follower. Every leader better have someone they are following. The death of leadership is arrival. Arrival is complacency. Complacency leads to apathy. When a leader feels like they have arrived, they’ve reached the pinnacle of their ability, they begin to take more than they give. Too many modern leaders detach from themselves being a disciple. If you don’t have a plumb line, you will build where ever the pressure pushes you. You will accept less than the best because pressure creates desperation, panic and anxiety. Leaders must keep learning and keep applying. Great leaders who are also great followers are easy to follow. Leaders who are only following themselves or the wind are difficult to follow. When you are difficult to follow, look back and look around, chances are you’ve had a trail of people leaving you.
Failure to put in more than they take out. When a leader begins to reap the benefits of what they have sown, many times a subtle mindset shift happens. This subtle shift moves from “put in” to “take out.” This is a temptation and a trap that is easy to fall in and is devastating to the development of your people. These days what leaders are putting in requires more than ever before because of scale, volume, pace and complexity.
Failure to adapt. Because the shoreline has changed, you must adapt. Without adapting you will be overwhelmed and overcome. Many leaders today feel exactly that: overwhelmed and overcome. This creates extra tension and pressure in the whole organization. Adaption is the adjustment to environmental conditions. Your talent environment has changed. When you fail to adapt, you end up getting trapped. Being trapped means being stuck. When you are stuck, you don’t move and you get left behind. Leaders today must practice strategic adaption. Which means you don’t change who you are, you change what you do. This is the fundamental difference. Many leaders fear adapting for fear of change. Embrace the change of what you do or how you do it, not the change of why you do it.
Failure to move in humility. Failure to adapt is often a sign of pride. Pride will kill leadership development quicker than any other thing. Pride is a heart issue. I’m not talking about the pride of shared joy in an accomplishment. I’m talking about the insidious pride of self-centeredness. When a leader makes it all about themselves, they are self-centered. Successful leaders practice humility, which means they easily recognize others and don’t need recognition themselves. Too many leaders today will not adapt because of pride. Pride makes you angry, frustrated, lazy and aloof. Humility keeps you hungry, engaged and serving. Humility helps you remember why you started developing leaders in the first place.
The greatest leader outside of Jesus Christ was one of his chief followers/disciples, Paul the Apostle. Paul spoke about adaptation in his disciple-making strategy. He said, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). This is some of the best counsel that I can ever offer someone frustrated in their development of others. Paul is basically saying, “I adapt whenever necessary to the standing of others, so that I can relate to them and win them.” If you really want to win with talent, you must adapt. You don’t win talent by demanding they become like you. You win talent by going to where they are.
Failure to paint a picture of better & brighter tomorrow. The next generation leader already has a very clear picture of what their tomorrow looks like–even if you think it is just fantasy. If you don’t speak into that picture or paint a better picture their tomorrow, then their shelf-life with you will be extremely short and you wont have an opportunity to bring reality into the fantasy. And it’s pretty hard to develop a leader when they leave you. Leaders today must paint accurate pictures of a better and brighter future.
Failure to speak with a social conscience. This is why I have found that despite the perceived unpopularity of my Christianity, when I speak with a social conscience, the next generation leader welcomes and responds. The next gen leader has more of a social conscience than ever before. Your leadership development style and structure needs to at least acknowledge this reality, if not engage this reality. Millennials really want to make their world a better place for everyone. Now, they often are not entirely sure how to do this or where to start. This is where you come in. You have resources, you have connections in your community and you do have a social conscience. A social conscience basically means you care and will demonstrate concern for others.
Conclusion
Developing leaders is always worth it. Today talent costs more and demands more. The shoreline has moved. The talent tide will not return. Throw off your pride, slosh through the sand and rediscover the joy of a new talent beach.
(c) Alex Vann, 2017
Great stuff! Thank you for this, Alex!