Leadership is a business imperative. Time and again, we’ve seen how leadership can make or break organizations and businesses. While the necessity of strong leaders is clear, there’s a stark reality in spotting such talent. Even after identifying and onboarding potential leaders, helping them settle in and succeed presents another challenge.
Let’s assume for a moment that an organization successfully spots, sources, and facilitates a leader’s success. As the benefits of good leadership begin to manifest, the organization may fall into the “trap of successful leaders.” They start depending on these ‘successful’ leaders for their continued success. As long as things run smoothly, this cycle persists. However, this smooth sailing comes with numerous risks, such as:
• What if new opportunities arise, but the leader is critical in their current role?
• What if the leader finds their role monotonous and wants a change?
• What if the leader decides to quit for personal or career reasons?
• What if circumstances change and the leader doesn’t align with these changes?
• What if the team below the leader aspires to grow, but the leader becomes a roadblock?
• What if the leader reaches retirement age, falls ill, or becomes less active?
In all these scenarios, an organization finds itself unprepared to tackle the risk unless a second line of leaders is in place. We’ve observed in many organizations that the need for second-line development is often realized too late and rarely considered a top priority. The hard reality is that a second line cannot be groomed overnight. Therefore, second-line development must be treated as a top priority for the sustainability and growth of the organization and for managing talent risk.
Do you want to develop your second line? Talk to us.
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