The leadership pipeline: developing leaders in the digital age

Abstract

"Leadership has become among the handful of most critical elements for business success in the knowledge era. Companies increasingly compete on the strength of their intellectual capital, those intangibles but priceless assets that reside in the people and processes of the firm. But even the strongest intellectual capital base can be worthless if not guided by leaders at all levels of the organization. And having leaders at all levels requires a constantly renewing pipeline of new leaders. The problem is, the pipeline at most companies is bone dry. Companies invest in leadership development programs and establish elaborate succession frameworks, but don't knit the two together nor take into account the fact that talented people are often recruited away. They prepare leaders in the image of the existing leaders, assuming those same skills will be meaningful into the future - when, in fact, most companies don't have a clue about what skills will be needed of their leaders in the future"--