The Leadership Pipeline
Developing Leaders in the Digital Age
3. Edition February 2024
288 Pages, Hardcover
General Reading
Further versions
Set up your company for long-term success by building and reinforcing your leadership pipeline
In the newly revised third edition of The Leadership Pipeline, a team of veteran leadership practitioners delivers a practical and essential framework for identifying future leaders, assessing their competence, planning their development, nurturing their talents, and analyzing the results of your efforts. The work to be done, the required skills, time application, and the necessary work values for each leadership layer are clearly defined for the digital age. The book explains how to integrate your organization's leadership development process with a succession plan that provides your company with a ready supply of capable leaders.
You'll discover the tools and techniques you need to knit together your succession and leadership development programs and constantly renew your leadership pipeline. You'll also:
* Explore anecdotes and stories drawn from the authors' extensive experience with top companies that illustrate the principles discussed in the book
* Find ways to eliminate bias and tunnel vision when identifying leadership candidates
* Learn to objectively consider the efficacy of individual leadership candidates
A powerful resource for managers, executives, board members, and other business leaders at firms of all sizes, The Leadership Pipeline is an effective and insightful blueprint to future-proofing your company.
Introduction 1
What This Update Offers 2
Changing the Work of Leaders 3
Solving the Problems of Today and Tomorrow 10
Applying the Leadership Pipeline Model 11
Dispelling Myths About the Model 12
Part I Why the Leadership Pipeline Matters 17
1 Leadership Pipeline Overview 19
The Big Ideas 19
The Core Leadership Passages 22
Defining the Job to Be Done 33
Understanding the Transitions 36
New Ways of Looking at Careers 41
Going Forward 43
2 Leadership Pipeline Value Proposition 45
Strengthening Your Weakest Link 46
Reducing Your Soft Costs 47
Universal Bank of Leaders Required 48
A Model for Past, Present, and Future 50
How to Build Needed Architecture 54
Part II Five Leadership Pipeline Passages 55
3 Leading Others 57
The Job to Be Done 58
The Transition to the Role 63
Typical Transition Issues 69
Variations of the Role 76
4 Leading Leaders 81
The Job to Be Done 82
The Transition to the Role 86
Typical Transition Issues 92
Variations of the Role 100
5 Leading a Function 103
The Definition of the Role 104
The Job to Be Done 106
The Transition to the Role 112
Typical Transition Issues 120
An Important Outcome 129
6 Leading a Business 133
The Heft and Scope of the Role 134
The Job to Be Done 135
The Transition to the Role 141
Typical Transition Issues 148
7 Leading an Enterprise 155
The Job to Be Done 158
Developing an Enterprise Mindset 160
The Transition to the Role 167
Typical Transition Issues 172
Part III Application 179
8 Strategies for Implementing the Leadership Pipeline Model 181
Designing Leadership Portraits 182
Choosing the Implementation Degree 186
Situating the Leadership Pipeline Framework 187
9 Tips for Fine- Tuning the Implementation 193
Universal Tips 195
Tips for Business Leaders 196
Tips for HR Leaders 198
Tips for HR Business Partners 200
Things Not to Do-- By Anyone 203
Tips for Unclogging the Pipeline 204
Final Note 205
10 Meaningful Dialogues for Performance, Engagement, and Retention 207
Where to Start 208
What to Watch Out For 210
Using Leadership Pipeline Performance Circles 212
Strategies for Getting to Full Performance 218
The Retention- Development Connection 225
11 How the Leadership Pipeline Model Is Applied to Unique Roles 227
Project Leader 228
Scaled Agile Organizations Leader 232
Leader of Contractors 237
Section Leader 240
Group Leader 243
The Authors 249
Index 251
STEPHEN DROTTER is Chairman of the Leadership Pipeline Institute. For over 50 years he has been actively involved in succession planning, executive assessments and leadership development. His work provides the source material for his books, which include The Performance Pipeline, as well as co-authorship of The Success Pipeline and Pipeline to The Future.
JIM NOEL is a retired consultant and leadership coach who assisted companies in the selection, assessment, and development of key leadership teams. He is a former manager of Executive Education and Leadership Effectiveness at GE.
KENT JONASEN is CEO of the Leadership Pipeline Institute and works with large organizations on strategic succession planning and development for leaders and experts. Previous to this role, Kent was Deputy Head of Human Resources at Maersk and is the author of the bestselling book The Specialist Pipeline: Winning the War for Specialist Talent.
