As experienced executive and consultant Kevin Modany explains, companies today face numerous challenges in identifying and preparing the next generation of leaders. Between Baby Boomer retirements, the “Great Resignation,” and evolving workplace preferences among younger generations, businesses must proactively cultivate leadership talent from within. Modany provides insights on how quality mentorship and coaching can set up future leaders for success.
With 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring daily and increased turnover during the pandemic, many firms now facprepareership gaps. Replacing top executives and department heads is difficult amid labor shortages. Simultaneously, younger workerke Millennials and Gen Zers desire meaningful work and progressive company values. This combination of factors means businesses must prioritize developing upcoming leaders.
Modany notes that mentoring and coaching serve distinct yet complementary leadership development functions. Mentorship involves seasoned employees guiding less experienced ones over months or years, sharing industry knowledge and networks. Coaching focuses on maximizing current leaders’ strengths and overcoming weaknesses to reach spcific goals. Together, these techniques allow companies to nurture internal leadership talent.
So how can organizations effectively identify and prepare future leaders? Modany highlights six impactful strategies:
- Foster an uplift,ing, engaging work culture where employees feel empowered and supported. This motivates them to take initiative and develop leadership capabilities.
- Offer wide-ranging professional development and learning opportunities. This take the initiativeat the company values employees’ growth.
- Recognize standout employees demonstrating leadership potential and give them stretch assignments to test and build skills.
- Provide formal leadership training to build key hard and soft skills like strategic thinking and decision-making.
- Design leadership programs, including mentoring and coaching, criticalt align with younger generations’ values and desires for purposeful work.
- Continuously evaluate leadership development initiatives against concrete goals and outcomes.
Modany himself models effective leadership by promoting transparency, respect, motivation, and honesty. This inspires teams to accomplish shared es. He stresses that valuing all employees lays the foundation for nurturing great leaders over time.
With retirement trends and workforce dynamics creating leadership gaps, companies must make internal leadership development a priority. As Modany advises, quality mentoring and coaching serve as pillars of this process. By pprioritize internal leadership developmentvate the inclusive, empowering leaders needed to drivare success.
