Filling Your Leadership Pipeline, One Manager at a Time

Kaiser, R.B., & Overfield, D.V. (2011, May). Filling Your Leadership Pipeline, One Manager at a Time. Invited webinar delivered for Human Resource Executive magazine.

KDI Partner, Rob Kaiser, and Senior Consultant, Darren Overfield, were invited by Human Resources Executive magazine to present their research and application models for understanding the challenge managers face as they navigate upward transitions on the career path. Starting where Kaiser’s 2005 book, Filling the Leadership Pipeline, left off, the presenters shared findings to be published in the June 2011 special issue of The Psychologist-Manager Journal, guest edited by Kaiser, and entitled, “The Leadership Pipeline: Fad, Fashion, or Fact?” Based on the updated research, the presenters also shared a concise model for HR/OD/Talent managers to implement when helping managers make a successful leap to the next level of leadership.

Red Auerbach, the nine-time NBA champion basketball coach, was once asked how to motivate a team. “One player at a time,” he replied. The same is true for filling your leadership pipeline, be it through internal or external candidates: You fill it one manager at a time. Of course, you need a robust system and scalable process, but you also must have strategies and practices that address the specific needs of each individual manager as he or she navigates the tricky transition into a larger role.

This Webinar summarized recent research that shows too many executives lead more like middle managers—which disengages their people, compromises their teams and lowers company performance. The presenters, Robert Kaiser and Darren Overfield of Kaplan DeVries Inc., will reviewed what’s required to lead effectively at both the manager and executive level—and why it’s so difficult for managers to reinvent their leadership to suit higher-level job demands. Also presented was a scalable methodology for helping managers make a successful upward transition.

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See also:
Filling the Leadership Pipeline (2005, CCL press)
The Leadership Pipeline: Fad, Fashion, or Empirical Fact? (2011 Conference session)

Filed under: Conference Presentations

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