|
|
 Message from the Top 
|
In building a successful leadership development program, buy-in from the top echelon is critical. Such hands-on C-suite involvement sends a clear message that leadership development is more than important; it’s critical.
UBS makes the point by using management in creative ways. It doesn’t hire outside teachers for its corporate university. Instead, it taps its own top executives, including its CEO and CFO, to teach courses.
A big believer in experiential learning, UBS also developed its popular Business Challenge program, through which small teams of “emerging talent” five to seven years into their careers work directly with a top leader on a strategic business opportunity. One team recently tackled ways of improving employee mobility within the company; another developed a Middle East equity strategy. “These are not case studies. They are real-life issues,” says Barbara Cona Amone, head of global talent at UBS Investment Bank, noting that some 60% of all challenge team recommendations have been implemented.
The impetus for change can come from diverse directions. At MasterCard, senior leadership seized on a momentous change—its May 2006 initial public offering—as an opportunity to ramp up its talent development program. There was “a deep desire to make sure that the company, as it transformed itself, also transformed its leadership team across the board,” says Rebecca Ray, who joined MasterCard as head of global talent management and development shortly before the public offering. |
Only 3% of companies surveyed by Corporate University Xchange feel they have the ability to find the leadership talent they need. |
|
Under Ray’s direction, a series of leadership assessments and targeted development actions, starting with the top corporate officers, soon worked its way down to the next 200 senior leaders “at the top of the house.” That momentum led to a broader talent development initiative designed to create “leaders at all levels,” says Ray, who is convinced that managers must take an active role in making their employees successful. |
To prepare for the IPO, which was championed by then-CFO Chris McWilton, three “maps” were created that pointed the way to coming changes. One outlined MasterCard’s competitive landscape, another showed how the company made its money, and the third took a look at MasterCard’s strategies. Specially trained business-line leaders and HR professionals then explained these maps to small groups of employees to make sure everyone was ready to “step off the curb smartly” once MasterCard became a publicly traded company. |
The critical skills that will be needed by future leaders continue to evolve as global markets and the importance of utilizing sophisticated technology increase. “The world is changing fast,” says Rick McAnally, John Deere’s director of global talent management. To keep pace, Deere is actively managing the progress of those who are tapped. “We don’t want to waste time in their careers,” McAnally says.
|
 |
|
| Deere, a leading producer of tractors and construction equipment, works hard to make sure that talented employees get the help they need to grow. That might translate into on-the-job experience to develop skills in areas ranging from logistics to finance, or it might be focused educational offerings like classroom learning and high-level coaching. “We are doing this purposefully,” McAnally says, “so that when we need people to be ready, they are ready.” |
www.fortune.com/adsections
|
|
