In their March, 2001 Harvard Business review article “The New Path to the C-Suite”, Boris Groysberg, L. Kevin Kelly, and Bryan MacDonald state that
“Once people reach the C-Suite, technical and functional expertise matters less than leadership skills and a strong grasp of business fundamentals”
Their article goes on to describe the real abilities needed across the spectrum of C-suite executives (CIO, CMO, CFO, CHrO, etc.). Few have to do with the basic functional and technical requirements of their respective disciplines.
Their article made me question current performance management systems. How well are they identifying the people with the best leadership potential?
In many organizations, leadership ability isn’t measured until a person becomes a leader. Prior to that, performance measurement is often focused on detailed competency and performance models associated with functional or technical skills. That means that organizations aren’t moving people into leadership positions based on their ability to lead. This would explain the current leadership crisis that many organization face.
This isn’t to say that among the functional and technical experts there aren’t great leaders. However, it does pose a problem. Those who are just “good” functionally and technically but show great leadership promise might be getting left behind. When was the last time your organization moved an “average” performer into a leadership position? Yet, how often do “top” performers move into leadership and flounder? If your organization defines good, average, and top solely on functional and technical competence, it probably happens a lot.
Perhaps it is time to rethink our performance management and succession planning processes. Leadership ability should be measured and tracked from day one, regardless of level. We need to break down the perceptions that our top leaders come from a subset of our top experts. Your best leaders might be the ones who know how to draw the greatest contribution from those experts.
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Brad Kolar is the President of Kolar Associates, a leadership consulting and workforce productivity consulting firm. He can be reached at brad.kolar@kolarassociates.com.
