Grow Your Own Leaders: How to Identify, Develop, and Retain Leadership Talent

Introduction Today, more and more organizations face a shortage of leaders at both the executive and general management levels. This shortage is driven by a variety of factors, including rapid growth, a dramatic rise in retirements, poaching of key people by competitors, and the difficulty of retaining talented people. And it's happening at a time when leadership is increasingly important to an organization's success. To contend with this reality, organizations essentially have three options: 1) intensify their efforts to hire hard-to-find, increasingly expensive people from outside their organization; 2) do nothing and likely experience a competitive decline, which could lead to being acquired or going out of business; or 3) tap into the quality people already in their organization, thus growing and keeping their own leaders. The third option is, of course, the most desirable. By finding effective ways to grow their own leaders, companies can make sure they have the executive talent they need in an increasingly competitive world. They can reduce the time and resources that they devote to attracting outside talent. And, they can improve their ability to retain their best and brightest employees. In today's opportunity-rich economy, talented leaders enjoy a myriad of alternatives. Research has shown that a primary reason people leave companies is lack of personal growth and job challenge opportunities (Axel, 1998; SHRM, 1997 as cited in AMA, 1997). By growing your own leaders, you give high-potential people the chance to pick up new skills and knowledge and take on new responsibilities. You give them clear opportunities to reach for bigger and better things, and in so doing you give them a solid reason to stay with your organization. The benefits of being able to grow your own leaders are clear. Nevertheless, many organizations try to do so by using traditional "climb the corporate ladder" approaches and replacement-planning programs--systems t