Taking a hybrid approach to gaps in Leadership Skills
Taking a hybrid approach to gaps in Leadership Skills
Clovis Rondineli Silva, Consultant specialising in executive team development and leadership training at Alumni discusses how taking a rounded, hybridised approach to sourcing new leadership skills can help HR deliver the best support to their businesses’ strategic goals.
There is no doubt that all of us have been particularly challenged this year – with new working practices, changing consumer behaviours and rising mental health challenges changing the workplace practically overnight, HR practitioners, line managers and co-workers have shown exceptional resilience. But despite all this, organisations are telling us that increasing the breadth of expertise within their leadership teams, remains a high priority.
New hires, upskilling and reskilling all have their part to play in creating dynamic and resilient organisations. Sourcing skills from both within and outside of the business to meet shifting strategic goals are both now effective strategies for HR leaders to combat what is expected to be a perennial skills shortage.
“Upskilling - the process of continuous learning”
“Reskilling - learning fresh skills and approaches”
Sourcing future leadership
At Alumni, the key starting point for any search for new leadership expertise is gaining a clear understanding of the role and the surrounding team the leader will be part of. A natural extension to this process of looking for a ‘new’ person is to identify areas where upskilling or reskilling could bring the same rewards. Leadership and potential do not always have to come from a new hire, the expertise might be nurtured from within.
Strategy, appetite for investing time and resource, plus patience for seeing measurable results from investing in individuals will all affect the matrix for where organisations source their leadership expertise. Some of the clients we work with favour a rapid hire and fire approach in their skills sourcing strategy, motivated by the desire for quick impactful, short-term results. This suits their industry sector, and as trusted advisors this is something we must always consider. Other sectors will have a commitment to their culture and values firmly at the heart of their leadership development strategy, taking a longer view and investing more in getting their people to where they want them to be.
“Upskilling and reskilling both require bringing about a change of mindset into a world of continuous learning. ”
Understanding the prerequisites of successfully leveraging potential
Equally important to consider is the maturity of the HR department, its systems and processes will impact the sourcing of new or niche leadership expertise. At Alumni we have clients at all levels of HR maturity. We are often called to determine the structure of existing leadership review frameworks or indeed creating new foundations and structures for achieving this, according to best practice. An essential part of every assignment is understanding to what extent HR is being integrated within the business, from a operational, tactical and strategic perspective. What is the investment criteria to measure people success in the organisation?
Upskilling and reskilling both require bringing about a change of mindset into a world of continuous learning. They certainly create a culture of talent mobility and highlight an organisation’s commitment to their leaders’ future career development. They also increase motivation and retention through visibly demonstrating that an organisation values its people. Sometimes though, only fresh insight, new perspectives and specific strategic skills will yield the speed of results demanded.
There is no doubt that, if organisations are willing to invest in upskilling and reskilling as a hybrid approach, it can ensure that leadership skills are relevant, up to date with market trends and aligned to corporate strategy. When knowledge is not updated then opportunities for applying that knowledge are also lost. How much of the onus for self-improvement falls to the individual and how much to their employer will have direct implications for its success or failure in meeting gaps in expertise.
A delicate balance
In conclusion, plugging the skills gap is a balancing act. On the one hand, identifying the capabilities already available in the leadership team enables you to target the development of key skills in your existing workforce to meet future demand. On the other, bringing in new expertise through key recruitments can help accelerate the learning process. For many organisations, the best solution will be a hybrid approach that incorporates the development of skills from within existing leadership and helicoptering in new expertise from the outside to scale skills with rapidity. The ongoing shift to digital, knowledge-based marketplaces means that the importance of intangible assets such as a skilled workforce, extraordinary leaders, and contextual knowledge is higher than ever. Finding the right balance to sourcing great leaders will be an HR imperative.
Prior to joining Alumni, Clovis Rondineli Silva had many years’ experience in leading HR within multinational businesses. If you would like to discuss how best your HR department might assess, develop or augment your existing leadership team, please do get in touch for an informal discussion.
Senior Consultant
E-mail
Perspectives
Harnessing the potential of people in a crisis
Perspectives
Managing well-being and performance in the new work normal
Perspectives
Talking about the future of work and the recipe to great leadership