March 12, 2014

Develop Your High Potentials

Into Results-Driven Leaders

Ivy Exec

Samuel B. Bacharach McKelvey-Grant Professor, Cornell University

@samuelbacharach

blg-lead.com

sb@blg-lead.com

You build your future on the

core knowledge and skills of

your high potentials

Who are your

high potentials & why train

them?

1. They know the business

2. Others respect them

3. They are ambitious

4. They work well with others

5. They have guts

Criteria for Selecting High Potentials

Train them in the micro-skills of execution

Results-driven leadership is

about moving agendas

It’s about giving your high

potentials the political skills

to mobilize teams and the

managerial skills to move

agendas for results

High potentials need

the micro-skills to

move agendas

micro-skills

It’s about

Why the focus on micro-skills?

If you want to create

change you must

lead a campaign

Political

Competence

Managerial

Competence

1. Anticipate

2. Coalesce

The Skills of

Sustaining

Momentum

3. Engage

4. Enhance

The Skills of

Mobilization

& &

The challenge of political competence

Overcome

resistance & get

them on board

Political

Competence

1. Anticipate

2. Coalesce

The Skills of

Mobilization

&

Step 1:

Train them to anticipate

Bacharach Leadership Group ©2010

resistance

have there will be pockets of

For every agenda item you

criticism

Anticipate their agendas

Adjuster Traditionalist

Revolutionary Developer

Anticipate their arguments

Leaders must anticipate

what others are going to say

Bacharach Leadership Group ©2010 Bacharach Leadership Group ©2010

Leaders must anticipate the

game

1. We’ve tried it before!

2. Your idea is too risky!

3. You’re doing it wrong!

4. You don’t know the issues well

enough!

5. Your idea will actually make things

worse!

6. Your proposal won’t change a thing!

7. You have ulterior motives!

The 7 Yes-But Arguments

Political

Competence

Managerial

Competence

1. Anticipate

2. Coalesce

The Skills of

Sustaining

Momentum

3. Engage

4. Enhance

The Skills of

Mobilization

& &

The challenge of managerial competence

You have them on

board, now you

have to sustain

momentum for

results

Political

Competence

1. Anticipate

2. Coalesce

The Skills of

Mobilization

&

Step 2:

Train them to coalesce

and get the buy-in

Four Benefits

of the Coalition

Mindset

Coalitions diffuse risk

Coalitions establish legitimacy

Coalitions deflect sabotage

Coalitions help deflect revenge

4 Ways to Justify Your Initiative

Regulation Scenario: “They made us do it”

Rational Scenario: “Look at the numbers”

Mimicking Scenario: “Everyone is doing it”

Standards Scenario: “People expect it of us”

4 Ways to Establish Credibility

Expertise: “I Know What I’m Talking About”

Integrity: “I Can Be Trusted”

Positional: “It Comes With the Turf”

Opportunity: “The Right Place at the Right Time”

Political

Competence

Managerial

Competence

1. Anticipate

2. Coalesce

The Skills of

Sustaining

Momentum

3. Engage

4. Enhance

The Skills of

Mobilization

& &

Managerial

Competence

The Skills of

Sustaining

Momentum

3. Engage

4. Enhance

&

Step 3:

Train them to structure,

guide, integrate, &

sustain for engagement

How to structure your team for

momentum

don’t forget teams Create hierarchies but

Provide resources but

welfare agency

don’t become a

Give autonomy but

define parameters

How to guide your team to for

engagement

subjective bottom line

Be clear about the

Make adjustments

but don’t overreact

How to

integrate your

team for

engagment

Create a problem-solving

culture but don’t process

things to death

Pump up the collective

but don’t forget the individual

Celebrate but don’t

worship idols

How to sustain your team for

engagement

Don’t let the coalition

mindset slip away

counter-coalitions

Beware of

Political

Competence

Managerial

Competence

1. Anticipate

2. Coalesce

The Skills of

Sustaining

Momentum

3. Engage

4. Enhance

The Skills of

Mobilization

& &

Managerial

Competence

The Skills of

Sustaining

Momentum

3. Engage

4. Enhance

&

Step 4:

Train them to enhance

Two keys to enhancing your team:

Dialogue 1:

Coach 2:

1. Emphasize that the micro-skills align

with your business strategy

Developing a Successful Skill Based High-

Potential Leadership Program

2. Make sure the skills the are integrated

3. Establish a learning cohort

4. Create micro-skill metrics

5. Match skill evaluation (to skill training)

6. Follow up for proactive ownership

Developing a Successful Skill Based High-

Potential Leadership Program

You can’t do it alone

Remember:

1. Online

2. Mixed-modalities

3. Face-to-face

&

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The End

Samuel B. Bacharach McKelvey-Grant Professor, Cornell University

@samuelbacharach

blg-lead.com

sb@blg-lead.com