Today’s article from the Globe and Mail “Board members plugging the CEO succession gap” (October 31, 2005) points to an ongoing issue of companies dealing with the departure of key staff at an ad hoc basis. Ballard, Nortel, and Stelco are some of the large corporations that have had to pull in Board members to temporily fill in the vacancies left.

Succession Planning is an important issue at every level of the organization.  HR departments are becoming aware of the oncoming baby boom exodus from the workforce, which will require well thought out planing to make sure companies are well equipped to deal with the shortage in trained workers. 

Visionary, Confident, Dedicated, Trustworthy, Diplomatic, Respected, etc…

The list can go on forever on the traits that great leaders possess.  From top CEO’s to great social leaders of our time, people often look to emulate these individuals in hopes of persuing their own success. 

But the problem with the current approach is that the focus is on imitating another’s style rather than developing your own style.

In the hit 2004 movie Ray, Ray Charles could imitate all the great singers of his time, like Nat King Cole and Chuck Berry. Unfortunately, that would get him only so far. It was when he met up with a producer or coach who taught him to find his own style that he achieved greatness.

The same is true with leadership. The only way to be a truly great leader is to develop your own unique style or brand. Sometimes that will take coaching to get you where you want to be. It’s not enough to copy the style of those before you. Leadership brand identity is as important as corporate brand identity.

Your thoughts?

A question for our imaginative, resourceful, but time-restricted readers:

What/Where/Who do you look to for inspiration to increase your creativity for your busy workdays?

Post us your Comment!

Did you know that more information has been published in the last 30 years than in the previous 5000?  The amount of knowledge available to us is DOUBLING every 5 years!  No surprise though, since we’ve increased our means of communication 1000 fold with new technologies and methods being invented everyday (have you experienced the advertisements in bathroom stalls and elevators yet?). 

We are absolutely overloaded with information- how do you keep up? How do you know what’s important?  How does this impact your business?

There really is no quick fix to deal with it- it seems that we need to know more and more.  One thing is for sure- unless we keep up, we risk becoming rapidly irrelevant in one or more key aspects of life and business.  The buggy whip manufacturer lasted for decades, conventional film cameras will hang on for a few years, software for months…what will be the life of most new products 5 or 10 years from now?

-John Eckmire

Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist reflected last year- “When I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, “Finish your dinner- people in China are starving!”  I, by contrast, find myself wanting to say to my daughters, “Finish your homework! People in China are starving for your job!”

What we are living in the midst of, yet might underestimate on a day to day basis, is the extent to which the change phenomenon will forever alter how we live, work, and develop as a global community.

Billions of people worldwide are becoming more skilled in knowledge-based labour- is your organization developing strategies to deal with this trend?

-John Eckmire

According to a Watson Wyatt survey last year, some 46% of Canadian employees will consider changing companies for the same job. That is way up from 37% just 2 years ago.

Why?

They say pressure has increased but rewards have not. They also cite inadequate training.

Think about your ideal working situation- it probably includes:

1. Being stimulated and challenged by your work,
2. A positive atmosphere with work/life balance, and
3. Opportunities to develop your skills and excel your career through practical career training and hands-on experiences.

If your 3 wishes aren’t being granted, what can you do to change that?

-John Eckmire

Think about this reflection from the CEO of Intel- “the world has arrived at a rare inflection point where nearly half its population- living in China, India, and Russia have been integrated into the global market economy, many of them highly educated workers, who can do just about any job in the world.  We’re talking 3 billion people!”

The amount of brain power in the world is, well, mind boggling (pardon the pun).  It’s likely that a call you’ve recently put through to a customer service department has been received by a highly trained professional in an Indian call centre.  Our world is getting smaller, and there are more and more qualified talent vying for the same jobs.

The rapid advances we have in our world have afforded us luxuries as much as hardships. Work/Life Balance has gone from a catchy statement used by self-help gurus to an unquestionable employee need for every organization. 

While your HR department might be taking great strides to facilitate that demand through employee programs and flex-time, what are you doing to help yourself?

There’s a story of a lumberjack who kept falling farther and farther behind his quota day after day because he felt that he could not afford the time to stop cutting and sit down and sharpen his saw. 

Taking the time to stop, assess, and take action on the tools you need to sharpen for yourself might be a short term inconvenience, but think about how much more productivity you could realize.

-John Eckmire

In follow up to the entry “HR Professionals are Now Entering the Perfect Storm”, here’s a thought on how to deal with the qualified labour shortage we’ll face in a few years-

Does the team in your organization have management skills strong enough to lead you into and through this tempest?

These days it is also simply just more difficult to manage a racially, culturally diverse workforce.  Many supervisors and managers need basic training in business writing and in English.  Generation X’ers need to be managed differently than the new dotcom generation.  Customer service, leadership, communication, soft skills for IT/IS people are all rapid growth areas for training because of a changing world.

What is your organization doing to foster talent? 

-John Eckmire