The most current edition of Public Personnel Management, Winter 2004, focused solely on a single of the hottest problems facing today’s public sector human resource specialists: workforce and succession arranging. Through the 2004 IPMA-HR International Education Conference, several sessions focused on the growing want to implement workforce and succession organizing systems in order to address the mass exodus of workers that is anticipated in the subsequent 5 to ten years. In both Public Personnel Management and at the conference, the challenge of leadership improvement was cited as a key tool for preparing the workforce for the future.
Several agencies are incorporating leadership improvement as an element of their workforce arranging efforts. Notable leadership improvement programs that have been documented include those implemented in San Diego County, CA Henrico County, VA Hennepin County, MN City of Las Vegas, NV City of Phoenix, AZ and City of San Jose, CA. In Danny Popescu Vancouver , several of the finest practice elements in public sector leadership improvement are consistent between agencies. The objective of this post is to share ten practices that seem to be prevalent threads among agencies that are creating leaders internally to fill anticipated vacancies in the future.
The following suggestions are offered as guidance to public sector organizations that might be interested in developing their personal leadership development applications.
Tip A single: Base the system on a competency model.
Prior to any coaching or improvement activities can take place, it is essential to determine the skills and competencies that will be developed as a outcome of the effort. As discussed in the Public Personnel Journal, Winter 2004, Henrico County created 20 core leadership competencies including communication, vital thinking and selection generating, organizational astuteness, and private integrity. These competencies offered the framework for their improvement efforts. Other agencies, like the County of San Diego base their leadership academy on the same model as the multi-rater, 360-feedback tool that is employed in the system.
No matter whether your organization has an established competency model that is made use of all through your human resource programming or not, it is important to devote some time defining the capabilities that leadership plan participants are expected to develop. For instance, the City of San Jose carried out a survey of top rated managers, followed by round-table discussions to decide the competencies to be created in their leadership plan called The Art and Practice of Leadership.
Tip Two: Enable participants to self-select.
Every agency must establish for itself the best method for deciding on leadership development system participants. Elements including collective bargaining influences, time, and the intended target audience may well impact the process you use to recognize participants. Some organizations are targeting potential future executives only while other folks are supplying leadership development opportunities organization-wide.
In my encounter, the highest levels of results in terms of participant commitment result from a competitive approach where interested participants apply to be involved. By self-deciding on, rather than by being appointed, participants are much more most likely to clarify their purpose for wanting to take portion in the plan. When participants are mandated to attend a leadership development program, they are generally reluctant to commit the time and energy into their development, and oftentimes, they do not totally have an understanding of why they are getting asked to participate.
The choice procedure you opt for will rely upon the target audience for the system (whole workforce vs. middle managers). You may select to use a written application, manager nomination, private interviews, assessment centers, or other suggests by which participants compete for entrance into the program. Nonetheless, it is hugely advised that participants have a decision in irrespective of whether or not they participate in your leadership development efforts.
Tip Three: Involve executives and elected officials in the development and implementation of the program.
It has been stated in several articles about employee and leadership development that with out the full help and involvement from the executive leadership team, the plan will fail. Top management have to be involved in the development of the curriculum, the selection of the attendees, and in the presentation of the system. Their assistance is critical for the good results and long-term viability of any leadership improvement system.
Likewise, quite a few agencies are acquiring that involvement by an elected official can also supplement the curriculum of a public sector leadership development program. For example, the City of Las Vegas invited a councilmember and the City of San Jose invited the Mayor to address their current leadership academy applications. The official in each case addressed the class of leaders for up to 1 hour. They had been asked to give their expectations for public sector leaders, and plan participants had been allowed to ask inquiries. The dialogue developed in these forums allowed the organization’s future leaders to see the organization via the eyes of an elected official. A facilitated conversation that followed the presentation encouraged the participants to identify meaningful “take-aways” from the elected official’s comments. Since plan participants have not likely interfaced extensively with an elected official, but will likely be anticipated to as their leadership responsibilities boost, this has become a essential element in public sector leadership development programs.