* Readers respond to the need for developing leaders
I recently wrote about a survey on preparing younger workers for senior leadership roles. The results showed that companies aren’t doing enough in that area, and survey sponsor DBM offered some tips for changing that (see editorial link below).
IT Manager Mark Strickland is all in favor of grooming younger employees for leadership roles, but points out that their more senior colleagues could use this training, too. “Some of the older senior managers need as much help! It seems leadership is left on the lower rungs as many senior managers move up the ladder,” he says.
In Strickland’s view, one of the reasons leadership may be lacking is that managers are tempted to do what’s good for themselves instead of what’s good for the company. He says this is especially true when there’s a lucrative bonus on the line. “Put a huge bonus in front of some, and Pavlov’s Dog takes over and the ‘drooling’ gets heavy. At that point they will do just about anything, even if it hurts the company, to earn the bonus,” Strickland writes.
One of DBM’s suggestions for grooming the next generation was to implement a mentoring program for employees. However, another reader told me he wanted no part of that. “Only once did I need to train a younger worker and then get ousted because the organization could no longer afford ‘executive level’ salaries for me,” he wrote.
What about you? I’d like to hear about your experiences serving as a mentor. Was this a formal or informal arrangement, and what do you believe were the most valuable lessons or skills that you imparted? Let me know at aschurr@nww.com.
