Leadership Development: "This is Squishy Feely" Stuff

The “Squishy Feely” statement was on a recent comment card for a workshop that I conducted.  The follow on note to that very technical phrase was, “We’re not going to do this.” 

The “stuff” and the “this” that this individual was referencing included things like:

• Providing growth opportunities for the firm’s associates by structuring assignments for developmental purposes.

• Working to identify the firm’s high potential talent and ensure that these individuals are gaining the experience and exposure that they need to develop into leaders in the near future.

• Increasing mentoring, coaching and improving feedback practices.  A survey of the firm’s associates indicated that this is generally absent from the environment.

• Involving people outside of the senior staff in providing input for strategy assessment and formulation.  It is presently a closed-door process.

• Taking time as a senior team to identify the attributes of future leaders and to begin forming a practical leadership competency model.

And a few other “Squishy Feely” things like the above.

It’s not uncommon to run into resistance from the senior members of an organization that has just recognized that it might be good to professionalize and improve talent development and acquisition processes.  I can even understand the “Squishy Feely” comment coming from a grizzled functional veteran that grew up in a world where the topic of talent identification, development and retention was not as front and center as it increasingly is today.  However the statement: “We’re not going to do this,” is impossible to fathom.   It’s a lot like saying, “It’s good to be ignorant.”  Or, “It’s OK not to breathe.”

Without launching into a diatribe on the need for organizations to become great at identifying, developing and retaining talent (I’ve co-authored a book and composed about 130 blog posts on this topic), I will instead encourage the professional dealing with the subject of leadership development to recognize the reality of the resistance that they face.    Ignorance and apathy are powerful adversaries and their cousin, fear of change, is perhaps even stronger. 

If you are leading or involved in driving the topic of leadership/talent development in your organization or with your team, it pays to understand what you are up against and to steel yourself for the resistance.  If you are doing this at the senior level, expect a marathon, not a sprint and take heart in the small, incremental victories. 

My post of a few months ago, Teaching a Senior Leadership Team to Dance with Leadership Development, includes what I believe are some useful tips for anyone involved with this issue at the top levels.  In it, I propose 8 Steps to Mastering the Leadership Development Dance, and frankly, upon further review and after considering the “Squishy Feely” comment, I stand behind the steps.  I am hopeful that they also have something for the mid-level manager seeking to strengthen practices at his or her level as well.)

The Bottom-Line for Now:

I can’t imagine not doing everything possible to arm myself and my company with the best possible talent at every level of the organization.  The day that the “We’re not going to do this” types retire or are otherwise invited to do something else is a victory for the rest of the organization.  Some will see the light…others will go on happy in their ignorance and narrowly focused on their minute to minute mission.  If you are about creating the future, don’t let the resisters slow you down. 

Comments

[Chris]

Interesting points - thanks for sharing them.

Often I think it is a matter of motivation for the leadership team that will decide whether they will take any action. The motivation can sometimes come from the CEO or from a compelling business issue (eg. lack of talent, people leaving etc).

If the motivation isn't there then this is where the leadership team need help to see the compelling reason in terms and language that they understand. What are the real tangible items that they are being constrained by the issue...

Chris
http://learn2develop.blogspot.com

[Dan McCarthy]

Art –

“expect a marathon, not a sprint and take heart in the small, incremental victories”.

That’s exactly the approach I’ve taken with talent management. You can’t go in as a consultant or employee and change a large organization overnight. But you can make incremental progress towards where you know the organization needs to go. Before you know it, you look back over three years, and you can see and feel the progress that's been made.