The Coming Leadership Shortfall

With increasing frequency, as Baby Boomers prepare to retire, senior Talent professionals are citing the absence of an effective approach to accelerated leadership development as their major pain point. As a case in point, recently I was having dinner with a prominent SVP HR and we spent most of the evening on this subject. He asked me about my experience in the area and, in turn, he enlightened me on what his company is considering as a way of addressing the issue. Then, just a few weeks later, a different client expressed the view that leaders are born rather than developed. For them, the challenge is to recruit these future leaders rather than grow them.
Also recently, a professional acquaintance — and future HR leader – and I were discussing the possibility of a book on key Talent issues. She suggested a prominent accelerated leadership development chapter. As we discussed the contents for this chapter, several conflicting approaches emerged as possible themes.
This is now a leading topic among business leaders and even more so for those directly responsible for developing leaders and growing Talent. It’s time for some fresh thinking on the subject. We need an approach that aligns with common sense, can be implemented without major disruption and where results will be measurable. We plan to address this subject in the upcoming May issue of our  Leadership and Talent newsletter. Stay tuned!