Be the guiding light

By Isuru Tillakawardana

WHEN a young person starts his or her career in an organisation, the ambition is to reach the leadership level in that organisation. The path to this much-desired level is defined by the senior management team of the organisation, because it is they who define what characteristics, skills and abilities are needed to reach the top. They hold the key to the magic door.

It is essential that the individual concerned should have the ambition and the drive to reach that level; the responsibility of guiding this promising young person always rests on the shoulders of the senior management team. Their guidance will help the young person to successfully navigate his career through the challenges of the corporate life.

As a successful manager you yourself have travelled up this path. Therefore, the guidance and encouragement you can offer is of immense value to this high potential young business executive. You are in a position to create a structured path for them so that they will have the required exposure and experience to reach the top. This will be not only beneficial to them but also beneficial to you as a manager, because it will position you as a leader committed to people development, which in turn will lead you to greater heights in your career.

Identifying future leaders

When you consider an organisation’s long term growth strategy, it is incumbent on the senior business managers and HR specialist to identify the competencies and the exposure future leaders of the organisation need to have. It is once that is figured out and suitable candidates are recruited that the real challenge begins. The organisation is going to invest in the development of these young potential leaders and therefore retaining them in the organisation in the long run is of vital importance.

Developing a systematic way of achieving this and creating a suitable environment for the young people to grow is not an easy task. In most organisations management trainees are recruited with lot of effort and fanfare attached to it. The general experience is that after seven to eight years, only a very few remain in the organisation out of a particular batch.

Why do these bright young people recruited to the organisation with all good intentions leave the organisation without reaching their full potential? Various reasons are given for this and one that comes out clearly is the role played by the supervising manager. In most instances of success, supervising managers have played a significant role to retain and guide the young executives through the initial stage of their careers.

Creating a conducive environment

How can we set about this so that a conducive environment is created for young executives to succeed in their careers with the organisation? Much attention needs to be given to the process of identifying their supervising managers. Organisations spend a lot of time on the process on selecting the young executives, but not enough attention is paid as to who is going to be the supervisor.

The following qualities matter in becoming a good supervisor/mentor to this new generation of executives who are coming into your organisation:

1.You need to be generous with your time spend on them. He or she needs to have unrestricted access to the manager. The manager should be prepared to spend time meeting and discussing issues with them. This should not be in a rush; it should be planned, quality time.

2.The manager needs to show kindness and patience in dealing with them so they feel comfortable in their relationship with the superior.

3.You need to make an effort to ensure that they understand the business of the organisation in a holistic way and see a career path for themselves in the long run.

4.The manager should have a good knowledge about the dreams and aspirations of this young person and his or her background so that guidance and help can be provided to overcome the challenges the individual is facing.

5.In spite of the generation gap that may be there, serious effort has to be made to understand the young person so that you are in a position to inspire him to reach greater heights.

6.You need to make an effort to help the person integrate with the organisation and especially the senior leadership of the organisation.

7.The manager has to realise that he is building up a leader for the future and be proud about the role he is playing. It will be tremendously satisfying to see them doing well and running organisations in your later life, probably in your retirement.

People development

As a manager it is very important to focus on this people development responsibility while running the business operations successfully. To succeed in this aspect one needs to focus on developing skills relevant to a coach and a mentor. That could also position you as a leader who has the ability to develop people and build a strong team, which in turn will prop you to greater heights in your career because you will emerge in your organisation as a leader who is respected and followed. The organisation also needs to facilitate this process by recognising this role played by the supervising manager. It can be identified as a goal/KPA in his appraisal and due recognition is given to the contributions made. It is also necessary to create training opportunities for the supervising manager on this aspect so he is ready for this role when the trainees arrive in his department. HR function has a great responsibility to ensure that a conducive environment is created for the young executive to succeed in the organisation.

(The writer is President of the Association of Human Resource Professionals.)