By Kyla Nicholson, CHRP Candidate

The phrase ‘leadership gap’ has become somewhat of a buzz word and a common response to questions, such as “What are the big challenges that HR will face in the next three to five years?” Well, bridging the leadership gap of course!

While the leadership gap is often placed at the top of “the next biggest thing” list, it is often not holding the same position on the results list. People recognize that what is required of leadership is changing and what is being exhibited is not hitting the mark. At the same time, the pain is not yet sufficient, or the connection to leadership is not strong enough, to warrant an investment of resources (be they time or money) to examine, define, and take steps to properly address the gap. Ironically, it might be said that the most persuasive piece of evidence that there is and will continue to be a leadership gap, is the fact that there isn’t the foresight to move now to close it.

While specific leadership competencies will be unique to your organization and its strategy, studies have found that such competencies as change management and strategic thinking or planning are among those that are core for success in both the present and the future.

A study released by the Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL) in 2009 identified seven essential leadership skills for leaders of today and tomorrow. These included:

• Leading people
• Strategic planning
• Inspiring commitment
• Managing change
• Resourcefulness
• Being a quick learner
• Doing whatever it takes

With the exception of resourcefulness, leaders today are showing gaps across these skill areas, making them ill-prepared for the leadership challenges of both today and tomorrow in critical areas of organizational success.

While commonly cited, the reasons for these gaps are not as simple as demographic challenges, problematic Gen Ys, or the elimination of middle management (the former senior leadership training ground). The gap appears when leaders are either focused on the wrong areas, or when they are focused on the right areas but are not fully performing for one reason or another.

Thus, the leadership gap inherently comes down to a lack of definition of the leadership skills and behaviours required now and in the future, and a failure to build and successfully implement a cohesive and aligned strategy to support and develop high potential candidates, new and current leaders in these areas.

At the root of this, is the failure to appropriately identify or acknowledge current organizational challenges as leadership challenges, and take action to address this underlying issue. Thus, the path to bridging the gap begins with building a business case to support proper investment in creating and executing a leadership strategy. The commitment to this investment needs to come from your current leaders; positioning your program to gain buy-in is clearly a key. Here are some suggestions:

• Use objective data (e.g., demographics), metrics (e.g., responsiveness to customer demand, speed to market of new products / services), and organization-wide examples (e.g., employee feedback related to organization communication; how the current leadership development initiatives are no longer aligned to the organization’s strategy) to demonstrate the current state of the organization, rather than speaking to individual behaviours and skills.
• Position the development of a leadership strategy as an investment now for the future.
• Make clear the cost of doing nothing.
• Stress the role that senior leaders play in championing organizational objectives and gaining buy-in throughout the organization.

While focusing on getting the financial investment and leaders’ personal commitment may not be as enticing as the prospect of designing a new leadership program, this first step is the most important to your success. Without the personal and financial backing of your executive your best designed leadership program will be challenged to get onto the results list and demonstrate an impact on your organization.

To find out more read, The Leadership Gap, Centre for Creative Leadership (2009). 

Kyla Nicholson, CHRP Candidate, is the manager of Professional Development at BC HRMA. Kyla is committed to providing high-quality learning opportunities that build the capabilities and the organizational impact of HR practitioners. She also sits on the editorial committee and writes for PeopleTalk Magazine.