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To the top with in-house leadership development and team mentor ing

The United States is suffering from a perceived leadership deficit. Sixty-nine

percent of Americans believe we’re in the throes of a leadership crisis. What’s

more, a majority of people are only “moderately confident” about the state of

leadership in business today.1 The good news is that they still feel they’re able to

effect real and lasting change to turn the leadership tide; they still feel that they

have enough power to make America’s leadership more effective.2

But, economic hardship has seen a number of businesses throw in

the leadership development towel in order to stay on track with

the budget and ahead of the post-recession curve. It’s precisely the

opposite of what companies should be doing. Organizations should

invest more time and energy into leadership development, not less.

Here’s why: In an October 2008 report, research powerhouse Bersin

& Associates® discovered that what companies need most are talent-

driven learning programs, specifically leadership development.3 Bersin’s

results showed that companies that embraced strategic leadership

development were:

• 84percentmoreeffectiveatincreasingthequalityoftheir

leadership pipeline

• 73percentmoreeffectiveatimprovingoverallemployee

retention, and

• 67percentmoreeffectiveatincreasingtheengagement,

retention and teamwork of leaders.

Experts agree that overlooking the value of cultivating talent at all levels can

be a fatal mistake. When it comes to leadership development, there are simply

too many benefits to ignore: it eases the chain of succession, makes employees

feel more connected to the business and transfers good ideas from one section

of your company to the whole organization.4 Moreover, it yields exceptional

returnoninvestment(ROI).Ina2007HarvardBusinessReview® study, researchers

Laurie Bassie and Daniel McMurrer demonstrated a strong connection between

leadership skills and the bottom line by examining stock prices of 11 publicly-

1 “National Leadership Index 2012.” Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership, Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.centerforpublicleadership.org/images/pdf/NLI/cpl_nli_2012.pdf>.

2 Ibid. 3 “Driving Performance: Why Leadership Development Matters in Difficult Times.” Center for Creative

Leadership, 2008. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ormit.nl/Downloads/DrivingPerformance.pdf>.4 Donnelly, Tim. “How to Create a Leadership Development Program.” How to Create a Leadership Development

Program | Inc.com. Inc.com, 26 July 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2012.


traded financial services firms.5 The highest scores for their investments in

human capital also showed stock market returns five times higher than others

that did not.

Improve your bottom line and impact the perceived leadership deficit by bringing

a leadership development program to life at your place of work. It doesn’t have to

be elaborate; it doesn’t have to involve anyone or anything from the outside. In

fact, a growing number of leadership development programs are becoming in-

house, started and sustained by managers in, and leaders of, small, medium and

large companies across the country.

One of the most common methods of leadership development is

called team mentoring. It is extremely easy to implement and very

cost-effective. Team mentoring utilizes the leadership skills within

an organization to prepare its up-and-coming leaders. It’s as simple

as matching mentors and mentees and scheduling regular meetings

between the pairs. Leadership development via team mentoring

wouldn’t just show your support for the continued growth of your

team; it would be a testament to your faith in their abilities and an

unspoken compliment that inspires confidence. In the eyes of your

staff, that goes a long way.

Now is the time to actively develop talent within your ranks because, after all,

looking internally for leaders is far easier and more cost-effective than seeking

talent externally and then bringing them up to speed on company culture and

protocol. So next time you’re thinking about filling that managerial position, take

a closer look at your team and give them the support and direction they deserve

as potential leaders of your company’s future.

This Blue Paper® provides the context for leadership development and its

importance. It explores the concept and emphasizes team mentoring, which builds

upon our April 2008 Blue Paper on mentoring. Where that Blue Paper covered

the basics of mentoring, this Blue Paper will guide you through the formative

processes of implementing your own in-house leadership development program.

5 “Driving Performance: Why Leadership Development Matters in Difficult Times.” Center for Creative Leadership, 2008. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ormit.nl/Downloads/DrivingPerformance.pdf>.


Leadership and leadership development def ined

Leadership is the ability to negotiate, communicate, influence and persuade

others to do things.6 It’s about helping others see and understand a specific way

of thinking and then motivating them to work together towards a common goal.

People who harbor a well of untapped leadership potential can’t help but exude

it, so they’re pretty easy to pick out of a crowd. They tend to have an insatiable

appetite to learn, tremendous ambition to achieve, willingness to experience new

things and admirable self-discipline.7 Unfortunately, many emerging

leaders haven’t been supported. Some have never even entertained

the idea of becoming a leader. If you know someone with similar

characteristics and you’re in a position to help them, waste no time

in communicating your conviction in their ability. Offer to help them

by including them in a leadership development program to broaden

theirskillset.Inevitably,therewillbequestions.How will it work?

What will I have to do? Answer them simply by saying that leadership

development will grow their can-do attitude and leadership abilities.

Reputable leadership development programs integrate experiential

learning, which puts the individual at the focal point of the learning process.8 It

begins with an event and is followed by observations, reflections and analysis.

The success of a leadership program is contingent on three things: individual

learner characteristics (like the ones listed above), the nature of the leadership

development program and the level of support for behavioral change from the

C-Suite.9

Any leadership development method survives and thrives on enthusiastic

executive support. In order for it to work and work well, the C-Suite crew needs

to wholeheartedly embrace the concept and then commit to driving it. Years of

combined experience and expertise between executives render them invaluable

assets to a leadership development program. They can be mentors to everyone;

they already know where the proverbial “landmines” are and can show new

or young staff members how to avoid them. 10 Executive participation enlivens

the idea that leadership development is an ongoing learning process, one that

doesn’t end at the corner office.

6 Tracy, Brian. “The Role of a Leader.” The Role of a Leader | Entrepreneur.com. Entrepreneur.com, 25 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/189618>.

7 “Leadership Development.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Nov. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_development>.

8 Ibid.9 Ibid.10 Siegel, Rene S. “5 Great Reasons to Be a Mentor.” 5 Reasons to Be a Mentor | Inc.com. Inc.com, 14 Mar. 2012.

Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.inc.com/rene-siegel/five-reasons-to-be-a-mentor.html>.


Br ing in-house leadership development to l i feThe first step towards implementing an in-house leadership development

program at your work is to identify a direction, but in order

to do that there are a couple things to think through and

understandaboutyourcompanyfirst.Hereareafewquestions

to ask to get the leadership development wheels whirring:11

• How do you manage organizational talent?

Do you turn to only a handful of people? Do

you actively make time for most people? Select

only a few members of your team and you may

be missing out on an opportunity to develop

untouched potential.

• How do you perceive risk taking and mistakes? Too often, risk-

taking is seen as a “No-no” when, really, it’s a wise decision to let

someone take a risk and make a bold choice. Many companies

have done very well because of command decisions made in critical

situations. You can, through leadership development, help your

team members become confident decision makers.

• And now you—are you an active leader? You’ve reached the top

and you’ve got nowhere else to go, nothing else to learn, right?

Wrong. For a leadership development program to work, especially

if it’s in-house, you need to show that you believe in it, and believe

that you can benefit from it irreverent of your title.

Thosequestionsoughttoinspireavisionforthekindofleadershipdevelopment

program you want to bring to life at your work. Now you need to tackle the most

importantquestion:Whatdoyouwantyourfutureleaderstoaccomplish?12

• Create a participant list. Take a good, long look at the names of

your team members and devote time to thinking seriously about

the strengths and weaknesses of each. Make note of where you

think they can improve.

• Take it further. Ask their direct supervisors and ask them

individually. What do they think their strongest and weakest skills

are? Where would they like to grow?

• All together now. Combine answers from all sides to come up with

one or two general areas of improvement for each.

11 Ryan, John R. “What’s Your Leadership Mindset.” What’s Your Leadership Mindset? - Business Week. Business Week, 19 June 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090619_819188.htm>.

12 Donnelly, Tim. “How to Create a Leadership Development Program.” How to Create a Leadership Development Program | Inc.com. Inc.com, 26 July 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2012.


• Goals, goals, goals. Have a specific goal in mind, too, but talk about

it together in case they see their future differently. Go beyond the

basic conversation about learning and goals and find out what they

want to accomplish.

You can engineer an individualized program where each person works on his or

her own goals, or you can start with a curriculum where everyone learns the same

topic together. Ask yourself: Which would suit your business, budget and purpose

best? Think about a timeline, also. These kinds of programs can be condensed

into a short timeline or be an extended program. A general rule of thumb is to

remember that the longer the program, the greater the impact.

However, bear in mind, the longer the program, the greater the

costs will be in terms of billable hours lost.

There are a number of different development approaches to

consider for your program. Here are a few suggestions:

• Schedule rotations.13 Rotate people through

different positions within the company in order

to familiarize them with the various horizontal

and vertical levels of work. If your company has

different locations, consider sending people to

those offices to get a better sense of what part of

the work is done there and how it is completed. If

you can only manage a one-week stay, that’s better than no time at

all,buttryandshootforaquarterorhalfyearinstead.Thelonger

they’re able to stay in a given location or department, the better

understanding they’ll reach.

• Bring in a coach. Have an executive coach drop by for a visit every

month or so to give your group a leadership pep talk of sorts.

Executive coaches tend to exude self-confidence and are great

developmental resources for staff aspiring to climb the ladder and

climbitquickly.Ifyou’reabletofacilitateone-on-onesessions

with an executive coach, you may want to do that, too. That way,

program participants get regular outside feedback from someone

who may be more able to sense their personal growth and provide

insight on how best to grow as a professional.

• Save-a-date seminars. You can really show your people you’re

committed to their growth by blocking a day (or two!) on the office

calendar for a leadership seminar for all to attend. You could even

13 “How to Develop Future Leaders.” How to Develop Future Leaders - Management - WSJ.com. Wall Street Journal, 7 Apr. 2009. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. <http://guides.wsj.com/management/managing-your-people/how-to-develop-future-leaders/>.


make a weekend out of it and have a leadership development

retreat for more complete immersion than just the weekly (or

monthly) hour here and there.

• Facilitate a peer network. With a little more pressure fitting the

same amount of work into less time, a peer network is a great

way for your team to turn to each other to talk about concerns

orquestions.Theycanmeetweeklyormonthly,sociallyorinthe

office, or just communicate via an online platform like the office

intranet or a group on Facebook® or LinkedIn®.

• Introduce team mentoring. Team mentoring is when existing

leaders within an organization, people like managers and

supervisors, are paired with new or young staff to share

their expertise. The one-on-one relationship is a way

for the inexperienced individual to learn and take risks

with a trusted senior colleague as a guide.

There are many ways to help your employees become more adept

leaders, but it takes more than work from day-to-day or experience

from year-to-year. A program centered on leadership development

plants the leadership seed and helps it grow. Adding a mentor to

the mix is like adding sunshine and a little rain each day to keep it

growing strong.

Team mentor ing: an overv iew

Whenpeoplefeellikethey’renolongergrowing,thequalityoftheirwork

suffers. But, when companies coalesce around a common purpose, like imparting

valued skills to emerging new team members, everyone is engaged; everyone

grows. Team mentoring helps people continue learning with their colleagues

by helping them rise to new challenges together. And, team mentoring is an

excellent tool for improving communication because, from a management

perspective, part of the challenge is to be clear and direct at all times.14

Communication skills are the bedrock of any respectable leader.

Goals for team mentoring are not universal. Each organization, including yours,

has to approach team mentoring with the understanding that it is a serious

leadership development initiative. Bear that in mind as you decide which skills

to emphasize throughout. Those chosen skills may have something to do with

the reason you’ve implemented a leadership development program in the first

place. For example, where some companies opt for team mentoring during a



turnaround, others use it to bring people together in a time of growth.15 Still

others have fully-integrated team mentoring as a permanent part of their

company culture.

If you make personal growth a priority, leaders will emerge. They will connect

with their teammates, assist new recruits and, in the end, help business grow.16

Commit to leadership development with the help of team mentoring and you,

too, can improve employee satisfaction and retention, enrich new employee

initiation and make your company more appealing to recruits.17

The greatest thing about team mentoring is that, by utilizing

the prized resources already within your company—its

leaders—to encourage new ones, it’s extremely cost-effective.

Make team mentor ing a real i tyIf you’re thinking team mentoring is indeed something you’d

like to make happen as a part of your in-house leadership

development program, here are the steps you’ll need to take:

• Make the matches. Oftentimes matchmaking

is the most common conundrum when it comes to mentoring. At

McGraw-Hill®, for example, mentors and mentees are matched

based on who is best able to help another achieve those goals. 18

Conversely, just ask who they’d like to be paired with. Research

suggests that mentors and mentees will work better together if

they enjoy their company.19

• Take the time to explain. Sit everyone down together, or just the

individual pairs. If you’re operating on a smaller scale, take mentor

and mentee teams out to lunch, or visit with them individually

so that you’re able to clearly explain the utility of an in-house

leadership development program and how you think team

mentoring is an effective method towards that end.20 Furthermore,

tell them why you’ve chosen them as participants. Grow the seed by

telling them what they’re good at and reminding them that you’ll

help them get there.21

15 Ibid. d16 Steinfeld, Jay. “5 Things Great Mentors Do.” 5 Things Great Mentors Do | Inc.com. Inc.com, 18 Apr. 2012. Web.

23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.inc.com/jay-steinfeld/5-ways-to-be-a-better-mentor.html>.17 Kessler, Sarah. “How to Start a Team mentoring Program.” How to Start a Team mentoring Program | Inc.com.

Inc.com, 6 Apr. 2010. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/start-team mentoring-program.html>.


19 Ibid.20 Ibid.21 Siegel, Rene S. “5 Great Reasons to Be a Mentor.” 5 Reasons to Be a Mentor | Inc.com. Inc.com, 14 Mar. 2012.

Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.inc.com/rene-siegel/five-reasons-to-be-a-mentor.html>.


• Present a format. Remind program participants that they’re

accountable for either achieving those objectives as a mentee, or

helping the mentee achieve their objectives as a mentor. Relay to

participants that you expect them to make time for one another,

atleast1-3hourseachmonthfor6-12months.Asanadditional

suggestion, present a structure of their time like the one below:22

1. Preparation. Discuss expectations, confidentiality and

the boundaries of the relationship.

2. Establish agreements. Here, the mentor helps the

mentee draw up a detailed plan about how they will

achieve their desired goal.

3. Enabling. This is where the work happens, where the

mentee buckles down and the mentor supports them

as they execute their plan. The mentor acts as a mirror

and provides feedback and keeps them accountable.

4. Closure. The planned ending is a time to reflect on

the experience and what was learned.

• Mandate meetings. Ensure that everyone is meeting regularly

by mandating routine meetings. Encourage weekly or biweekly

meetings, but if it becomes busy, monthly meetings work, too.

Encourage participants—mentors and mentees alike—to catalog

their progress and their thoughts. It will help them internalize what

they’re learning and how they’re helping one another.

If the most important resource of an organization is the

people within it, why not develop them according to your own

standards? In-house leadership development programs are a

chance to utilize the knowledge and skills of managers and

executives to help grow the skills of those on their way up.

After all, you learn to be a leader by doing (and not doing)

what other exemplary leaders have done (and not done)

before you.23

Managing the leadership development programNearly there! Look for verifiable metrics throughout the process, actions that

can be measured. They will help you determine whether or not the initiative

was a success. It can be as simple as intermittent surveys, or occasionally sitting

down with participants to find out how it went and evaluating their productivity

and leadership capability during and after the program. Ask yourself: Is there

22 Ibid.23 Tracy, Brian. “The Role of a Leader.” The Role of a Leader | Entrepreneur.com. Entrepreneur.com, 25 Jan. 2008.

Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/189618>.


measurable improvement where you wanted to see it, either on an individual or

organizational level?24 If not, you may have to make some small changes.

Inc.com contributor Jay Steinfield, also the founder and Chief Effective Officer

(CEO) of blinds.com®, has a few pointers for anyone just starting out with an in-

house development program, specifically mentoring.25

• Mentor everyone. It might be financially-wise to mentor only a few

people at any given time, but each person not included is a missed

opportunity for you and for your business.

• Keep your office door open. As the champion of in-house leadership

development, you become the resident authority on all things to do

with the mentoring experience. Keep your door,

and your mind, open.

• Set expectations for your managers. Make your

management staff think ahead. Jay recommends

that they send agendas your way before meetings

so you know how to help them.

• Don’t give answers. When employees come to you

withquestions,don’tjustgivethemtheanswer

they’relookingfor.Askprobingquestionsorat

least help them make the connections. Remember,

someday they’ll be leading a group of people—

maybe even their own business—so it’s important

to prepare them to think hard about difficult

situations on their own.

• Act as a role model. Be transparent about your

own want or need to learn because leaders are

never more powerful than when they are shown to

be learning.26

Jay’s final recommendation is to make mentoring a part of your organization’s

identity. There are so many positives that come with team mentoring … why not

make it a permanent part of your long-term plan? In fact, as a committed mentor,

he went on to write a second Inc.com piece about why he does it and what makes

him most happy as an executive:27

24 Siegel, Rene S. “5 Great Reasons to Be a Mentor.” 5 Reasons to Be a Mentor | Inc.com. Inc.com, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.inc.com/rene-siegel/five-reasons-to-be-a-mentor.html>.

25 Steinfeld, Jay. “5 Things Great Mentors Do.” 5 Things Great Mentors Do | Inc.com. Inc.com, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.inc.com/jay-steinfeld/5-ways-to-be-a-better-mentor.html>.26 Hansen, Drew. “5 Keys For Developing Talent In Your Organization.” Forbes, 02 Dec. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

<http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhansen/2011/12/02/5-keys-developing-talent-in-your-organization/>.27 Steinfield, Jay. “3 Easy Ways to Make Employees Happy.” 3 Easy Ways to Make Employees Happy | Inc.com.

Inc.com, 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.inc.com/jay-steinfeld/how-to-make-employees-happy.html>.


• Watching employees buy cars, homes, vacations, and

raise families because of our joint success

• Givingotherstheskill-buildingopportunitiesand

autonomy to excel, and eventually become leaders

themselves

• SeeingothersdotheworkIusedtodo,andbetter

than I did it

• WitnessingpeopledothingsInevercoulddo

• Helpingpeoplethriveinanenvironmentthat

is stress-free

• Learninghowtobemoreeffectiveatanything

(e.g. coaching, planning, and communicating)

His joys are the core of mentoring: individual and

group achievement, personal and professional

satisfaction and combined success. In the end, if

business isn’t a team effort, what is it? Take a moment

to think about some of the things that contribute to

your happiness as a leader. Where does your team’s

satisfaction fall? What follows is an example of a

business that thrives on the success of everyone:

Zappos®. They’re one cool kid when it comes to online

sales, but they’re the coolest kid on the block when it

comes to leadership development.

Case study: Zappos

Zappos, the largest online shoe retailer, is a big believer in the power of

leadership development. So big, in fact, that they’ve engineered and instituted a

system all on their own …

They might have started small in 1999, but it took Zappos less than 10 years for

the company to exceed $1 billion in annual revenue. That same year Zappos

debuted as #23 on Fortune’s® Top 100 Companies to Work For.28 Something

that has contributed to employee satisfaction and retention is its leadership

development program, the Pipeline. The Pipeline is so fundamental to the

company that it is rooted in the Zappos identity, the BCP strategy: Brand, Culture,

and Pipeline.29

28 “Zappos.com.” Zappos.com - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Nov. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zappos.com>.

29 Hsieh, Tony. “Zappos CEO: Training, Mentorship At The Core Of Our Employee ‘Pipeline Strategy’” Huffington Post, 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-hsieh/zappos-ceo-how-weve-built_b_812187.html>.


CEO Tony Hsieh wrote at length about the Pipeline strategy in a recent

Huffington Post Business® article. He notes that while people are important to his

company, even more important is the concept of building those people, a pipeline

of them. If someone leaves, there are others able to fill in, all of whom already

have the foundational skills and technical know-how to do almost any job in the

company.

The Pipeline is both company-wide and department-specific. Everyone begins as

a customer service representative (CSR) and goes through four week new hire

training.30(Whichincludesansweringphones.)Thereareeightotherrequired

courses in order to be recognized for promotion regardless of department. They

include: History and Culture of the Company, Science of Happiness 101, Public

Speaking, Tribal Leadership, Delivering Happiness, one week of Kentucky Boot

Camp at the Zappos distribution center and Intermediate-level Competency with

Microsoft Office®.

Tony believes people have to be engaged to learn

and grow both personally and professionally at their

work, so his goal for the Zappos team is to view

“their work not as a career, but as a calling.”31 His

vision is for everyone to begin entry-level and for

the company to provide the training necessary for

any employee to be able to become a senior leader

within five to seven years.

For Tony and his colleagues, it’s not the individual that’s an asset to Zappos—it’s

the combination of everyone and their respective growth through the power of

the Pipeline. How about one of your own?

Conclus ion

Just as a stable, 50 year-long career is no longer the norm, neither is the

traditional leadership development model.32 However, it is because of those

unforeseen professional twists and turns that leadership development programs

have become such a fundamental part of the work world today. And even though

the recession is over, the effects of it continue to resonate in both the American

30 “Zappos - Building a Customer-Focused, Customer-Centric Culture.” Net Promoter Community: San Francisco Conference Blog 2012: Zappos - Building a Customer-Focused, Customer-Centric Culture. Net Promoter Community, 3 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.netpromoter.com/netpromoter_community/blogs/conference_sf_2012/2012/02/03/zappos--building-a-customer-focused-customer-centric-culture>.

31 Ibid.32 Gallo, Amy. “Four Myths About Team mentoring.” Four Myths About Team mentoring - Business Week.

Business Week, 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/feb2011/ca2011021_034399.htm>.


4imprintservesmorethan100,000businesseswithinnovativepromotional items throughout the United States,

Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. Its product offerings include giveaways, business gifts, personalized gifts,

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marketplace and the global economy. Skillful leadership is necessary to take

on both arenas.

By helping your team realize their gifts, you’re also securing the future of your

business. Employ an in-house leadership development program with a little a la carte

team mentoring to cultivate the savvy leadership potential within your walls and you’ll

easily have more than one person ready to make a name for your company well into

the future.

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In house leadership training - 4imprint Learning Centerinfo.4imprint.com/wp-content/uploads/1P-21-1012-how-to-manage-the... · In house leadership training. ... To the top with in-house