Easier said than done. Finding key characteristics through day-to-day observations can be quite time consuming and my guess is, most business leaders simply do not have enough time in the day to observe every one of their junior team in hopes of finding a future leader. Then, once identified, sending individuals to an outside training agency can provide some core skills, but won’t necessarily develop the acumen best suited for the individual business. Following on, once the recognised individuals have been nurtured, it is of utmost importance to retain them, otherwise time, money and effort will have been wasted and will inevitably need to be repeated. What can be done?
Well, this month I would like to discuss various ideas and offer a few tips, sharing my experiences with a wide variety of business sectors and sizes.
Identify your future leaders:
What defines a business leader? Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, however they all bear common characteristics; they are persistent, focussed on the ultimate objective; yet aim to go further, are mentally strong, happy to recognise & develop talented individuals, make mistakes & learn from them, but above all are passionate about what they do.
What is business acumen and why is it important to instil this in future leaders? Business acumen is a collective of having the enthusiasm and mental ability to develop in-depth knowledge of a business and its’ sector to create that all important ‘gut feel’ or savvy. The combination of leadership and acumen skills is a very powerful one which, when nurtured properly, will benefit your business immensely.
Let them play:
Run a simulation game for your teams – this can be literally anyone, anywhere. Challenge them to make mistakes and gather metrics on various abilities as they progress. The beauty of a simulation game is you set it up with your business in mind, therefore setting up real life issues as they occur giving your employees the opportunity to collaborate, think of new scenarios giving them the opportunity to test and learn. Individual characteristics soon become very apparent, backed by real time simulation metrics whilst in progress.
Inherently this develops acumen in your staff as they will be faced with business simulations they either face or may have heard of inside your business. Having the ability to work alongside other departmental staff not only builds relationships, it promotes understanding of departmental or regional challenges.
Retain key individuals:
Games are fun, engaging and challenging, with success being the ultimate driver. Showcasing your business as a stimulating place of work that embraces modern technology will also drive the millennial; the future leaders of today. Promoting game play through innovative mobile applications demonstrates a core understanding of technology trends. Taking those simulation results and matching to individual development needs by your HR team will show just how important your key individuals are. Employee engagement is key in today’s workplace, and there are few better ways in which to show employee value than by giving individuals a ‘voice’ in the business. With a participation recommendation rate of 98%, this is a business solution that speaks for itself.
Why not have a look at this short video to see how it works.
Then call us on +44 (0) 845 371 3088 or via our contact page to see how it can work within your business.