Professional Development Plan - Worksheet

Transcription

1 Professional Development Plan - Worksheet brings the following distinctive leadership skills to our company (consistent with our strategy, our leadership model, and his/her role): Developmental issues for : What motivates (will)? is (high/low) will and (high/low) skill for the job we need of him/her now What we should do to support What we ask of : 14

2 Example Professional Development Plan John Doe -Vice President/Product Systems Discussed November 16, 2007 John s organization is key to the XXX division s past success and future growth. For Our Organization to continue to enjoy the premium, high-quality brand it has enjoyed, John s organization must stay ahead of competition in product innovation. Our Organization s recent forays into nanotechnology and sustainability are a good start. John s vision to leverage nanotechnology to be the first to market with the winning products of the future (e.g., photovoltaic paint) is inspirational. His organization has shown the creativity, commercial orientation, and scientific competency to merit these dreams. Innovation is not an option; it s a requirement for the growth of the XXX division. John s work is vital. John brings the following distinctive leadership skills to the XXX division: 4. Empowering a productive (and not too common) mixture of creativity, commercial focus, and scientific competence into R&D and product development John has built a trifecta of science, sales, and creative marketing in his organization with Jeff/himself/Jill (others?), empowering each person to bring their authentic talents to the complex process of developing and bringing new technologies to market. It is not easy or common to have a productive process for technology commercialization. John has a good track record based on several initiatives, including: Product Y Creative marketing Product Y cartoons, tattoo ad, mom and child sun protection ad, Elvis ad and impersonator at Vegas conference CSI innovation awards, providing commercial incentives for R&D professionals A highly satisfied field organization due to many years of successful product adaptations to help them win at customers Connecting to innovations in the community at University of Akron and Eliochem 5. John combines business instincts with interest in science for commercial wins Part of the reason that John is successful in his role may be that he personally has interests in business and science, with a desire to combine the two to win at customers. He is building an organization that mirrors his mixture of business and science perspectives (not too common usually people who are interested in business couldn t give two hoots about the technology they re selling and vice versa). John s organization has also done a good job of analyzing the competition to stay ahead. It is interesting to note that his son chose to study physics as an undergraduate, and then get an MBA, perhaps reflecting (validating, finally realizing, legitimizing through the benefit of education?) his dad s perspective. 6. Vision and creativity ability to see the big picture, dream about it, and make it real Using nanotechnology and sustainability as lenses for how the XXX division will drive innovation into its products is a great way to broaden thinking beyond what customers are currently demanding. By taking a broader view, John is ensuring true industry-standard making innovation, rather than solely adaptive product development. He is interested in revolutionary growth, not just maintaining the business. For example, he believes that the company to come 15

3 up with PV paint that will allow the roof to generate electricity (combining nanotechnology and sustainability) will rock the industry. John has an unusual combination of practicality and vision, which allows him to bring products to market. He likes to think about the future, not just as an intellectual exercise, but with a commercial end. 7. Respect and trust of the field organization John is well respected in the field. John has 26 year in the XXX business and a good track record of working with the field to help win at customers. The fact that the field is so satisfied with the support provided by John and his group is a real testament to his leadership to-date and is also a powerful strength to leverage in future innovation (i.e., getting new products tested and sold in the marketplace). Field satisfaction with support from the product development/r&d organization is also not that common. John deserves kudos for developing and sustaining such productive relationships. 8. Appreciation John is self-effacing and quick to deflect credit for successes to people in his organization, which likely feeds their productivity and creativity. 9. Passion John exudes passion for his work, not just currently, but also the possibilities for the future. 10. Action John does not waste time. He is decisive and action-oriented. Once he sets his priorities, he is quite capable of working the list, getting the job done. He most likely models these qualities in his organization and with customers. He does a good job clearing obstacles (e.g., for Gui to get his innovations in the field). In the job of handling adjustments, his no-nonsense, get-it-right attitude must work well to mend relationships with those customers as well. Developmental issues for John: John is somewhat of an insecure overachiever, which is not necessarily bad for the XXX division. Many of the most successful people have this profile, since they are driven (sometimes at a high cost) to win/succeed. John could be even more powerful of a leader though, if he could realize the true confidence befitting his accomplishments. Insecurity like many of the leaders in the XXX division, John is a bootstrapper, getting to his position through hard work and experience (e.g., without the benefit of a college degree, much less the powerful combination that his son has). In John s case, the position is also a difficult one, leading scientist who are more (some, far more) educated than he, and connecting with sales guys/ladies who own the customer relationship. John is often having to deal with people who know more than he does. In that situation it can be tough for anyone to pinpoint his/her value, so he may feel like he has to prove himself over and over again. John is good at it though. What he brings to all of these people is the broad, integrated perspective (science to the field, customer needs to the scientists, a vision for the future when most of them are caught up in the day-to-day) than many of them may not have, and the ability to break down obstacles. It s hard 16

4 to put words to that value, so he many not always recognize it.hence wanting to give back the XXXX Award, when he clearly deserved it. Insecurity can lead to some interpersonal style issues, such as defensiveness, being overly tough on some (who will take it) while too easy on others (on whom he depends), keeping superiors at arm s length of his ideas and his people so as not to be criticized or undermined in his authority, and wanting control. Impatience like many people with a vision for the future, John may be impatient with the people who don t get it yet. What motivates John (will)? 4. Winning at all costs nailing the customer account, being the best, bringing products to market first 5. Having the insight/foresight to do #1 John likes to use his own creativity and develop the vision for the future of XXX division products. He also enjoys collaborating to create. John is high will and medium-high skill for his current role, but will need strategic support to build his vision and leadership and management skills for the future ( ~$1B XXX division means 500 field rep customers for John s organization). What Joe and his team should do to support John Help him develop his confidence as a leader Communicate to John and the XXX division overall the importance of innovation, his organization, and him to the future of the XXX division. Communicate your understanding of the value of his experience and his unique, inherent skills to combine business and science, creativity and practicality (which are hard to learn, no matter how many degrees someone may have). Have Karen work with him on his leadership style (as below), people development, and succession planning (as planned). Help John build the vision for future XXX division products Provide him access to the resources that can help him understand how nanotechnology and sustainability will drive the market (e.g., classes at CWRU, BW). Support this work throughout the organization by clearly indicating its importance and your desire that people cooperate/get involved when John asks. Ask John how his thinking is evolving throughout the development of the vision (stop by, send an , call from time to time).. Show him that you believe innovation is not an option by engaging in his work at key points (the beginning, middle, toward the end) throughout the strategic plan. Bring John into the operations team and big 6 (7) meetings after progress is made on the communication issues in the field organizations By function, John should be a cornerstone of these meetings. Given his goal orientation, with clear feedback about what you expect from him in these meetings (e.g., help set vision through productive engagement with peers and Joe), he will be of high value. A good start might be for him to unveil his technology vision, including where the market is headed, once he has 17

5 completed the work. With a good piece of work to bolster his confidence and position with the group, he will likely show his passionate, positive self. You need to have a productive innovation force in these meetings within ~6 months. What we ask of John: While John is developing his confidence, ask him to just plain stop behaviors that are not productive. A good start would be to ask him to be like he is in the field when he is with Joe alone or with the ops team. He would also benefit from glancing through the book, What Got You Here Won t Get You There, focusing on the 20 bad habits of effective leaders. Develop his organization so that he is not the go-to guy for all 500 reps in 2013 (impossible). Karen should help him think through how to build the organizational capability to make what works well now more automatic (without him in the middle) and really build the ongoing capacity for ground-breaking innovation (processes and people development). Like the other leaders at Our Organization, he should be spending 30% of his time on people development, with HR support. He should empower all of his people the way he does with Jeff and Stacy (just imagine what great, productive ideas would flow). John should build his vision for the future, using all of the help and resources at his disposal now, and connecting to the networks that will help sustain innovation over time. 18

6 Skill/Will Matrix 19