Developing talent is one of the most important things an organization can do to ensure long lasting success. So, how exactly do you go about doing it?
Leveraging courses in a learning management system, enrolling in a company sponsored leadership training program, and assigning a mentor are all effective tools and a great start. Additionally, many people are being asked to do more with less and simply don’t have the time (real or perceived) to go through formal training. In these cases, leadership skills are learned through on-the-job experience and mimicing the actions of other successful leaders.
However, while a good first step, copying another leader doesn’t help you understand how that person arrived at his/her decision. Understanding how a leader thinks is critical. As David Goldsmith states in Paid to Think:
You could watch a master gardener plant a rose bush and duplicate the behavior but still not understand the gardener’s reasoning for selecting where that bush was planted, how it will be affected by other plants around it, and how to care for the plant in different seasons. This example shows how on the surface, actions can seem simple to duplicate, but when you try to act on your own without the rationale behind the actions, you can easily find yourself at a loss.
This is why most processes are not easily transferrable from one leader, department, or organization to another, and in a world where leadership prospects are in short supply, transferability is extremely important.
The best mentors teach thought not action. Sure, it takes more time, but developing these skills in others, building future leaders, will exponentially grow any organization.