The Talent Crunch
Many traditional competency models and performance maps do not capture the critical components to enable leaders to achieve accelerated adaptation and deliver dual transformation.
Our research found that linear performance models can introduce rigidity into talent management systems.
Most traditional performance models tend to focus on the drivers of success today – not today and tomorrow. They also do not take the whole-person, human-centered approach that is needed to foster dynamic capabilities.
Across the five domains of leading strategy, execution, stakeholders, people, and self, our research shows the most effective leaders are able to switch between the two opposing behaviors rather than leaning heavily towards one end of the scale.
The Transformer and the Operator
Executives must be able to adjust the strategy to short-term opportunities in the market while being able to come up with completely novel but viable strategies to create value for the customers and capture value for the company.
The Experimenter and the Implementer
Executives must be able to implement and get others to implement well-established and well-tested procedures but must also be willing to test out new and better ways to deliver value, with the understanding that doing so may lead to failed experiments.
The Networker and the Administrator
Executives must be able to leverage formal structures and processes to achieve organizational success while leveraging social networks, social influence, and informal processes to achieve this goal.
The Galvanizer and the Conductor
Executives must be able to set clear expectations for their teams and hold them accountable for delivering on promises but must also be able to take a step back and know when to use a coaching and empowering style of management to inspire others.
The Explorer and the Regenerator
Leaders must be able to keep themselves balanced and poised in the face of uncertainty while also having the ability, when necessary, to make big and uncertain jumps in their decisions without full information.
The natural inclination of an individual is to work to their strengths to secure promotion and move up the leadership ladder. Over time, this reinforcement of their natural leadership style and approach solidifies their strengths as either a transformer or an operator.
It is important to note that ambidextrous leadership can be developed over time, and leaders can work to improve their ability to balance both transformative and operational leadership skills. If an organization is able to build a pipeline of ambidextrous leaders internally through a robust leadership development system, it becomes a significant strategic competitive advantage.
This is not a complicated path – yet it is a path that few companies have taken because it requires undertaking all of the steps outlined above. IMD Strategic Talent has captured the latest thinking and technology to provide an integrated solution that can be readily implemented, to provide a methodology for strengthening your talent pipeline.
IMD Strategic Talent incorporates two lenses:
- Future-ready business skills by developing ambidexterity for dual transformation.
- Capabilities for accelerated adaptation to thrive in the context of ongoing change.
A comprehensive suite of assessments focused on the things that matter most for future success
5s2 assessment forms the foundation for the suite of IMD Strategic Talent assessments.
Our talent assessment tools cover the full spectrum of leader domains. The assessments are modular, so you can construct the assessment that fits with your strategic talent needs, whether to build your organizational talent pipeline across your business, or to focus on a specific area such as sustainability, digital, talent, or innovation.
Talent assessment tools provide personalized development recommendations and access to relevant IMD digital content. For a full leadership talent assessment, the leader will also undertake a series of activities with either faculty (e.g. business challenge, business simulation) or an organizational psychologist (experience interview, in-depth psychological interview) to provide a robust and comprehensive snapshot of their future readiness and ambidexterity.
While only 12% of leaders show up as ambidextrous, our belief is that most leaders have the capacity for ambidexterity. IMD Strategic Talent uses a science-based approach to enable you to build a stronger talent pipeline to support sustained success.
With the right leadership performance model encompassing the factors that really make a difference to organizational performance today, precision insights using cutting-edge tools, and targeted, personalized development, IMD offers a methodology to capitalize on your existing talent and deliver increased impact on performance.
Find out how IMD Strategic Talent Solutions support these organizations in developing ambidextrous leaders to meet the dual transformation challenge.
Download the Voyager e-Book