Future Leadership Pipeline: Getting the right person in the right seat

Wednesday, 18 September 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka recently played host to the 35th Meeting of the SEACEN (South East Asian Central Banks) Directors of Research and Training. The sessions offered comprehensive learning programs, research work as well as networking and collaboration platforms for capability building in central banking knowledge. Conducting the sessions was Centre for Executive Education (CEE) Chief Executive Officer and SEACEN Resource Person and Master Facilitator Professor Sattar Bawany, who presented two Masterclasses focusing on ‘A Central Bank’s Capacity Building in Driving Economic Growth and Stability’. The Centre of Executive Education is the Executive Development Division of IPMA Asia Pacific and Professor Bawany is also concurrently the Strategic Advisor and Member of the International Professional Managers Association (IPMA) Board of Trustees and its Governing Council. He is also the Managing Director as well as Master Executive Coach and Facilitator with Executive Development Associates (EDA) Asia Pacific. CEE is the Affiliate Partner of EDA in the Asia Pacific region. He is also the immediate Past Co-Chair of the Human Capital Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham Singapore) and is also a member of Frontier Strategy Group’s Expert Advisory Network (EAN) for Human Capital and Talent Management issues in Asia Pacific advising CEOs and CHROs of global and regional organisations. He has over 25 years’ international business management experience, including 15 years in executive coaching, group facilitation and leadership development and training with global management consulting firms. In addition to his business and consulting career, Professor Bawany has over 10 years of concurrent academic experience as an Adjunct Professor teaching senior executives international business strategies and human resource courses at various leading universities. He is currently the Adjunct Professor of Strategy with the Paris Graduate School of Management (PGSM). Professor Bawany has assumed various senior management roles including that of Managing Director and Talent Management and Executive Coaching Practice Leader for DBM Asia Pacific. Following are excerpts of a Daily FT interview conducted on the sidelines of the sessions: By David Ebert Q: Let’s first talk about your organisation, the Centre for Executive Education. A: The Centre for Executive Education’s (CEE) mission is to assist client organisation to secure a leading position in their respective marketplace and developing a sustainable competitive advantage through developing their key asset, the intellectual capital of the people. To this end, CEE through the IPMA has established a strategic partnership with Executive Development Associates Inc. (EDA) to achieve this aim. CEE collaborates with clients, adapting various approaches (such as knowledge-driven learning organisation) to their specific contexts. We design and implement tailor-made learning and organisational development strategies that greatly improve our client’s performance, increase market value and enhance organisational capability. Q: You’re in Sri Lanka to hold a series of workshops with the Central Bank. Tell us about the program’s focus and the changes it looks to bring to the country’s apex banking institution. A: I am the Resource Person and Master Facilitator for the 35th Meeting of the SEACEN (South East Asian Central Banks) Directors of Research and Training which is being hosted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre was first established as a legal entity in 1982 with eight member central banks/monetary authorities which has since grown to nineteen members in 2013. Since its inception in the early 1980s, the SEACEN Centre has established its unique regional position in serving its membership of central banks in the Asia-Pacific region through its learning programs, research work, and networking and collaboration platforms for capability building in central banking knowledge. I presented two Masterclass sessions which are related to the theme of the meeting which is ‘A Central Bank’s Capacity Building in Driving Economic Growth and Stability’:

Masterclass I: “Harnessing the Potential of Multigenerational Workforce to Build Capacity in Central Banks”.
Masterclass II: “Winning the War for Talent 2.0 in Central Banks Organisation”.

Q: You have been a vocal proponent of companies developing what is termed as a Future Leadership Pipeline. What are the critical challenges for HR Business Partners (HRBP) in the War for Talent 2.0, the development of a Future Leadership Pipeline? A: In my view organisations need to focus and I am of the opinion that although there has been some progress in recent years, there is still much work to be done by HR professionals today in Singapore to bridge the gap from a transactional function to a strategic business partner. HR leaders are facing an extended period of rapid change and transition as it seeks to align more closely with the business, at a time when the nature of work itself is becoming more complex, with an increasingly international, cross-generational, multi-partner and technologically-dependent design for many work activities that are critical towards achieving the organisational success. From my consulting engagements, I found that there are significant HR leaders who lack business and strategic vision which essentially could prevent the HR function delivering effective strategic solutions to challenges facing the business leaders. These challenges include the failure to attract, develop, retain and reward suitable talent at all levels as a potential barrier to boardroom influence. The critical or the biggest challenges for HR leaders in particular HR business partners is to impact and influence senior leaders and board members that development of leadership pipeline needs to be a critical strategic initiative and acquire the relevant resources to make this happen. The HR professionals are faced with being expected to provide the essential structures, processes, tools, and points of view to make the best selection and develop the future leaders of the organisation. This situation is of course not unique to Singapore alone as across the globe leadership development has been identified as a critical strategic initiative in ensuring that the right employees are retained, that the culture of the organisation supports performance from within to gain market position and that managers are equipped to take on leadership roles of the future so that the organisation is viable in the long term. Organisations need to heed the advice of Jim Collins in the book “Good to great” where it is crucial for them to get the ‘right person on the bus’ and ‘wrong person off the bus’ and ensure that we have the ‘right person in the right seat’. Q: You’ve said before that not enough companies are focusing on future talent and skills and the development of a leadership pipeline to address the challenges and changes in the future. Why do you think that is? A: This is primarily because of the continuous focus by business leaders on resolving day to day operational issues and challenges and also the constant need to ensure the achievement of the bottom line of the organisation. Hence they neglect to focus on the most important element of the driver of achievement of business results and organisational success which is the development of future leaders who are going to drive the future success of the organisation. In essence, the heart of the leadership challenge that confronts today’s leaders is learning how to lead in situations of ever greater volatility and uncertainty in a globalised business environment, allied with the needs to deal with scale, complexity and new organisational forms that often break with the traditional organisational models and structures within which many have learned their

‘leadership trade’. So the basic assumption that past experience is the key for future leadership success is more open to scrutiny than ever. Leadership is all about the ability to have impact and influence on your followers so as to engage them towards achieving results of your organisation through both Ontological Humility and Servant Leadership blended with elements of Socialised Power/Social Intelligence. Q: What are the key success factors for HRBPs in ensuring the development of Future Leadership Pipeline? A: I believe that for organisations to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, business execution is a key driver of organisation success. Regrettably from my experience, in situations where talent and succession plans have been put into place, organisations have repeatedly find that these plans fall short. One of the key reasons is due to the fact that too much attention is focused on current skills and competencies of the leadership team, and not enough attention is focused on future skills and competencies that are crucial to implementation or execution of the business strategy. Development then is not consistently based on closing critical skill gaps required for these future leadership roles or tailored to the organisation’s needs. Several key success factors will include organisations that will be able to address the issue of development of future leadership pipeline: a) What are the organisation’s key strategic drivers and predictors of future success? b) Do you know the specific competencies (knowledge and skills) that will be needed to drive the business in the next two to five years, based on the strategic plan? c) Do you a managerial leadership competency model that is used in selection, performance appraisal, talent reviews, and developmental activities for the current and future leaders of the organisation? d) What leadership development interventions does the organisation adopt to meet its future pipeline objectives? e) Which functions and organisational levels have a rich talent pipeline and which have a lean talent pipeline? f) To what extent does the organisation have a “leadership pipeline” in place to ensure a flow of qualified candidates for key positions? g) Which roles as mission critical to achieve the organisation strategy and how many “Ready Now,” “Ready 2 to 3 years” and “Ready 3 to 5 years” have been identified? h) Do you have the resources; time, money and commitment by those who can make the future leadership development happen? These questions provide a basis for determining the measurement of success for the future leadership development efforts. The challenge lies in being able to facilitate meaningful dialogue with the CEOs and senior business leaders that gets beyond the aspiration-based, general success definitions. Q: How important is corporate education for a growing economy in Sri Lanka to improve its competitiveness and survive on the global stage and are Sri Lankans seeing how important it is? A: Corporate or executive education is one of the many organisational development interventions that are available and widely adopted by many leading organisations globally as well as in Sri Lanka to nurture top leadership talent. It offers executives new knowledge to enhance skills and gives them the opportunity to step back and gain new perspectives. In an increasingly complex global business environment, Sri Lankan leaders both in the public and private sectors are continuously looking for ways to stay ahead of the crowd and make meaningful change, ensuring continued need for high-quality executive education. From my experience over the past 25 years in human resource and management consulting in Asia Pacific including Sri Lanka, doing value Executive Education and I have found that companies and their executives are demanding ever more from executive education programs. The curriculum needs to be relevant to global business challenges and must evolve with world trends. Executives up and down the corporate hierarchy as well as business owners and all types of professionals are increasingly recognising the need to refine and expand their knowledge, perspectives and skills. They sorely need to stay at the top of their game in order to effectively compete and succeed in today’s hyper-competitive work environment. This translates into a very pronounced need for lifelong learning. Q: You’ve stated earlier in one of your articles that retention of talent is one of the most important factors in businesses being successful. Sri Lanka has been facing a massive brain drain in the past due mainly to better financial prospects abroad. How in your opinion could the country turn this around? A: Employee turnover refers to the proportion of employees who leave an organisation over a set period (often on a year-on-year basis), expressed as a percentage of total workforce numbers. At its broadest, the term is used to encompass all leavers, both voluntary and involuntary, including those who resign, retire or are made redundant, in which case it may be described as ‘overall’ or ‘crude’ employee turnover. Retention relates to the extent to which an employer retains its employees and may be measured as the proportion of employees with a specified length of service (typically one year or more) expressed as a percentage of overall workforce numbers. Retention of employees is an important function of the HRM. Unless there is a deliberate and serious effort from the management towards this direction, the competitors in the industry are likely to attract and snatch the talent already nurtured in the company over a period of time. Careful strategies for crafting and implementing employee retention strategies are a skill and should be given top priority by the management. From ongoing CEE discussions, human resources professionals indicate that retention of key talent is one of their top challenges and that they worry about having the people needed to win market share when the economy improves. These professionals fear that key employees are becoming increasingly frustrated in their organisations due to layoffs, the resultant expansion of job accountabilities and constraints on reward programs; primarily limited base salary increases, lower incentives and fewer advancement opportunities. Hence following are the possible strategies Sri Lanka companies can adopt to meet these challenges faced by their talent within their workforce: a) Key talent identification is a core attribute in terms of programs that are deemed as effective in retention of key employees. b) Having career development conversations on their future opportunities within the organisation. c) Pay key employees above the labour market rate. d) Provide tuition reimbursement and other educational opportunities. e) Develop a succession plan to replace individuals critical to success. Q: In terms of attracting the right talent to an organisation, currently are Sri Lankan companies focused enough on it and what is it that they need to do right? A: To attract the best people, employers need to ensure their job propositions are competitive, particularly around the career opportunities available within their company. Sri Lankan companies need to develop a compelling Employee Value Proposition and need to emphasise their strong company culture to encourage professionals to join their organisation and remain in their roles. Career development opportunities (especially for Gen Y employees), employee recognition and rewards will also play a big role in talent retention and acquisition. Competitive salary packages remain a key talent attraction tool. Employers also need to offer a range of incentives to appeal to potential employees, including but not limited to mobile phone company car or healthcare and insurance benefits. Q: You’ve had a lot of experience training top executives in business strategies and human resources as well. Where do you rate Sri Lankan executives and their proficiency in being able to handle global competitiveness and the innovation to succeed? A: From my interaction and ongoing dialogue with Sri Lankan executives over the past years, I am of the view that they have come a long way and today are much more business savvy and aware of the impact of the global macro environmental forces impact on their business and they have been diligently been improving their capabilities in meeting or addressing these challenges. Q: I recently attended an HR forum where a survey among CEOs on whether HR people can be effective CEOs revealed that a majority of them were of the opinion that HR executives are not strategically minded enough to take on the job and lead a company towards success. How can that change? A: CEOs feel HR should be involved in helping organisations grow, managing talent and succession planning, employment branding, generational differences in the workplace, employee communications, social media, forecasting and change management. The human resources manager of the future is likely to take on a much more prominent role, acting more like a performance adviser for driving corporate profitability and shareholder value. Managing change is a major shift required by HR professionals. This was often overtaken by events and new pressures on the business, in the ever changing competitive environment. In addition, today’s economic climate heightens the uncertainty and ambiguity that HR managers face. So there is a clear need for HR to take a longer term, strategic view of the resources of the business, and the way in which requirements are changing, in order to retain talent and manage change. Q: Where does HR come in, in terms of the development of a highly engaged workforce as a sustainable competitive advantage for organisations? A: HR business partners certainly can impact and influence senior business leaders towards the development of high engagement workforces which will contribute to stakeholder/customers’ engagement which will eventually led towards achieving the organisation’s success. The challenge is to have the right tools to measure HR effectiveness in achieving this task. As with many other areas of business, HR as a profession also needs to be able to measure results in terms of transaction management, as well as in terms of the positive influence on business. Utilising metrics to determine effectiveness is the beginning of a shift from perceiving HR’s role as purely an administrative function to viewing the HR team as a true strategic partner within the organisation. In other words, the critical future issue for HR will be organisational effectiveness; again supporting HR’s critical role as a strategic partner to management. Where HR departments have traditionally focused on measuring their own effectiveness, there is an evolving recognition that they can provide organisational value by measuring the effectiveness of the entire business organisation. The shift is significant as it represents movement from simply counting the numbers hired to determining the ROI of collective and individual hires on a long-term basis. Going beyond measuring turnover, this new approach considers ‘bad’ turnover and ‘good’ turnover along with the overall cost of replacement hires. From consulting engagements with local, regional and global client, there are many variables that will have an impact on the effectiveness of the role of an HR Business Partner which includes: a) Impact of effective leaders (with superior managerial leadership competencies) in meeting business goals/expectations. b) The no of high potentials plans to leave their organisation in the next year. c) The level of improvement/decline of employee engagement and productivity. d) The extent of successful implementation of critical on boarding activities for future leaders in their first 90 days and their impact of achieving early wins.