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By the
2008 AASCIF Human Resources Standing Committee
 As
one contemplates the beginning of a journey of leadership development,
it is evident that there are literally thousands of recently published
books and articles on leadership development. It would also seem
there are thousands of consultants that promise organizations a
multitude of approaches to develop leaders. It can be very confusing
as to how to start a leadership development program in your organization.
The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCBNS) found
itself in this situation in 2006, just as it was beginning to develop
a new service delivery model. The executives and broader management
team realized that developing new leaders and helping the existing
leadership team to manage new ways of doing business needed to
be a priority if the new initiative was going to be successful.
The organization has a long history of asking the people who do
the work as to how they might design their jobs better. It saw
that this approach could also work for improving leadership at
the WCB. So, it used an experienced consultant to help representatives
from the management team to establish a list of leadership competencies
that would be necessary for managers to lead effectively in the
new environment. These competencies were then used to develop a
360-degree leadership feedback form. Each participant, from first-line
manager to the CEO, did a self-evaluation on their own leadership
competencies, and they were also evaluated by their supervisors,
peers, and direct reports. The focus was on getting feedback on
each manager’s demonstrated level of the required leadership
behaviors and practical suggestions for improvement. While the
feedback was confidential to each participant and the external
consultant, most managers indicated that the feedback was frank,
practical and very valuable.
For the next stage, the participants were debriefed on their survey
results by an external coach. The intent was to help managers
to examine their existing leadership strengths and their areas
for improvement. Each participant, with the coach’s help,
wrote a personal leadership development action plan that concentrated
on experiential ways to develop the required leadership competencies.
They discussed the plan with their supervisors, and reached agreement
on the details. Finally, the leadership development plan became
part of each manager’s annual performance plan. Each individual
had outlined a clear path to developing the required leadership
skills and the organization was able to plan how to support these
individuals in their development.
The management team met in late 2007 to discuss how the organization
could support its leaders to develop their competencies. Common
themes for leadership development had arisen from many of the
action plans. Specifically, strategic planning, decision making,
and coaching employees through organizational change were key
issues. There was recognition that developing a common methodology
for these processes would be quite valuable. The group also discussed
the challenges for new managers who needed specific training
in hiring, coaching and recognizing employees. Managers indicated
they wanted access to more self-study materials on leadership.
The WCBNS took the feedback and responded to the need. In early
2008, it brought in an experienced strategic planning consultant
to train senior managers on a specific approach to strategic planning.
It then put the entire management team through a two-day course,
using real-life examples, to teach decision-making techniques.
It overhauled its corporate library ensuring there are more leadership-related
articles and books available. Next, it developed an orientation
program for new a manager that uses in-house seminars, on-the-
job training, and mentorship so they can quickly come up to speed
in their new roles. Finally, a Coaching course for managers is
now in development and will roll out later this year.
The benefit of all this work is that the leadership team at the
WCBNS is now prepared to implement its new service delivery model,
which is slated for full implementation in 2009, and confident
that it has the leadership skills in place to ensure success.
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