In today’s volatile business environment, the demands on leaders are greater than ever. CEOs face double the number of critical issues compared to a decade ago, requiring a new approach to leadership development. A recent McKinsey article explores the key characteristics of successful leaders and how organisations can build a robust leadership pipeline. However leaders do not grow on trees. In a world that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, I very much see family businesses doing the same mistake and not investing enough time, energy and money to build tomorrow’s leaders for their business…yet they still pay the price for not having such leaders in their business.

McKinsey’s research identifies six traits associated with strong leadership in today’s organisations:

• Optimism: Maintaining a positive outlook and inspiring teams.
• Selfless Leadership: Prioritising the needs of the team and organisation.
• Continuous Learning: Staying current with new developments and assimilating information.
• Resilience: Bouncing back from setbacks and adapting to change.
• Levity: Using humour and lightness to create a positive work environment.
• Stewardship: Leaving the organisation in a better position for future generations.

These traits enable leaders to navigate disruption, inspire their teams, and drive long-term success.

Efforts to build real leaders, is more than just succession planning; it’s about developing a broad leadership team capable of executing at scale. Key components include:

1. Identifying High-Potential Individuals: Recognising individuals who consistently step up to major challenges and opportunities. Often, high-potential individuals may surprise you as people rise who you didn’t think were your high-potential folks and succeed within the system you establish and become the high-potential folks of the next generation.
2. Implementing Leadership Programs: Infusing the way you work with a leadership program and development. Anchoring it in a new set of leadership capabilities that the organisation believes are critical for its next phase.
3. Providing Stretch Roles and Hard Assignments: Offering opportunities for employees to step outside their comfort zones and develop new skills.
4. Leading Immersion Sessions: Creating focused interventions where individuals can learn from others in similar roles, discuss their challenges, and set ambitious goals.
5. Fostering Peer-Based Learning: Encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing among leaders.
6. Transparency: Management teams using strategies that allow for transparency, keep score, develop an even standard of work, and lock down how things are done with excellence.

Continuous learning is crucial for leaders to stay ahead in a rapidly changing world. This involves:

• Reaching Beyond Typical Networks: Learning from other industries and ensuring that more people in the organisation maintain networks outside of their companies.
• Embracing Discomfort: Viewing uncomfortable situations as opportunities for growth and development.
• Adopting a “Play-to-Win” Mindset: Taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from them.
• Being Open and Humble: Acknowledging what you don’t know and seeking guidance from others.

Leaders must manage their energy and build resilience to avoid burnout and maintain effectiveness.

Strategies include:

• Managing Energy Explicitly: Those who manage energy explicitly and strategically are actually able to do quite a bit at once, and they’re thrilled to be doing it.
• Prioritising Personal Balance: Treating personal well-being as a key stakeholder.
• Practicing Mind, Body, and Spirit: Investing in practices that support mental, physical, and spiritual health.
• Destigmatising Mental Health: Creating a culture where it’s okay not to be okay and seeking support when needed.

Building leaders from the ground up requires a systematic approach that focuses on developing essential traits, fostering continuous learning, and promoting resilience. By creating a leadership factory and prioritising the well-being of their leaders, organisations can navigate today’s challenges and thrive in the future.