Leadership Pipeline: Growth from Within

According to a study, around 60% of executives perceive effective leadership as the crucial skill required to prepare for the future. What could be the most important factor for an organization’s long-term health? Identifying the right talent early and cultivating and making them future leaders, right? It is proven, time and again that the most successful organisations around the world do not recruit leaders; rather, they identify talent early, offer them opportunities and nurture them so they grow on their own in the same organisation.

A well-planned leadership pipeline is essential for any organisation’s long-term success and sustainable growth. However, over time, the definition of leadership has changed — leadership is not the final destination but a journey for the long-term, constant learning, reflection and development. Unfortunately, I have seen many people in the senior leadership roles who treat learning & development as an expense, not an investment and they don’t even like to get nominated for any training interventions if they are offered.

Identify Talent Sooner Than Later

The first and most important step in building a leadership pipeline is identifying potential leaders early. No offences to the existing leaders. Longevity in service is no qualification. A senior deadwood will only prove to be a terrible leader if promoted. Generally, leadership talent shouldn’t be associated with titles or experience. Still, they can be recognized through how they approach problems, how eager they are to learn something new and how they interact with their colleagues.

Here are a few ways through which leaders can identify talented employees early:

1. Leaders should encourage open communication by actively engaging in communication with all levels of employees. When, as a leader, we create a platform where every employee feels comfortable expressing their ambitions and ideas, we can easily identify individuals with leadership potential.
2. Some talent assessment tools (behavioural assessment, performance evaluation, 360-degree feedback, etc.) are valuable in identifying high-potential employees. Through these tools, managers can analyse both soft and hard skills imperative in leadership roles.
3. We should nurture employees who continuously bring new and innovative ideas and have a growth mindset. Such employees have the capability to lead change.

Offer Growth Opportunities

Identifying the right talent is just the beginning, but cultivating them into future leaders is where the real work begins. Here is how to do it:

1. Once we’ve identified high-potential leaders, we can unlock their talent through appropriate focused training, mentorship programs, leadership workshops, cross-functional opportunities and more.
2. When potential leaders learn the broad perspective of how organizations work by working in different departments or cross-functional teams, they can better understand the organization’s structure and processes. It will help them make informed decisions and even develop a unified customer journey map.
3. Let’s continue to provide continuous feedback as it will help them understand their strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. However, let’s keep in mind that feedback should be constructive and supportive. It should not only point out weaknesses but also focus on how they can grow.

Time To Prepare Future Leaders

Once we have recognised the right talent and offered them development opportunities, it’s time to prepare them for transition into leadership roles. Here is how we can do it:

1. Prepare employees for future leadership roles through succession planning. For that, let’s identify positions that we want to fill in the future by ensuring that we have a pool of employees ready; they can be a perfect fit for these positions when the right time arrives.
2. Leadership doesn’t develop in one day. It is an ongoing process that develops over time. So, give potential leaders responsibilities gradually. It will help them ease into their new positions. Start assigning them small leadership tasks like leading the project or handling the meeting. Once they become more comfortable, we can gradually assign them complex responsibilities.
3. There is no single rule of thumb for leadership. Different situations need different leadership styles. Therefore, we should prepare our potential leaders by helping them understand various leadership styles and teach them in which situations they need to adapt which leadership style.

Parting Note

Building a sustainable leadership pipeline is and should remain an ongoing process with cautious planning and execution. By identifying and nurturing future leaders, organisations can ensure the constant flow of capable leaders who can drive success. In short, organisations can secure tomorrow’s leadership by investing in people today. This just cannot be an overnight transition. Organisations that prioritise building a leadership pipeline can easily create a growth and innovation culture.

Finally, the leadership pipeline has become much more than just a successful succession plan. It is the proactive approach that ensures a company’s success. By identifying the talent early, offering them development opportunities and cultivating future leaders, organisations can build a robust and dynamic workforce ready for future challenges.

About the Author

Muhammad Sajwani is a C-Level HR, Transformation Leader, Board Advisor, Business Coach & Organisational Consultant and Managing Director, Evolve HR. He is an author, columnist and a contributor who besides writing for LinkedIn and Medium, also regularly writes for BizCatalyst 360 and has published around 500 articles. He brings along 30+ years of local & international experience. He is a change catalyst specialising in unleashing the human Dreamgenius through Leadership, Creativity and Change Management. Muhammad has been instrumental in helping organizations come to terms with organizational changes like right-sizing and business process re-engineering. His innovative approach & high personal competence encourages people to not only accept change, but also to excel in it. Muhammad has diverse experience in conducting strategic & management development programs, conferences & events for organisations across sectors. In recognition of his long outstanding services, Global HR Professionals — GHRP & Artificial Intelligence Community of Pakistan awarded him the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in the year 2024.