Sow the seeds that help young leaders grow

Businesses are crying out for young people to grow into leaders, but are they doing everything they can to help them in this process?

Effective leaders can be a rare commodity throughout businesses across Australia. This scarcity has caused executives to look towards the next generation to pick up the torch and usher in the changing of the guard from the old school to the new school. The issue is that young employees often aren’t ready.

HR Leader recently spoke to Sonia McDonald, chief executive and founder of LeadershipHQ, about fostering future leaders and how organisations can better prepare them for these roles. McDonald shares the optimism and excitement for the next generation that so many executives across Australian businesses hold.

“I'm excited about the generations that are coming through because they have got such an appetite and energy for growth and development. They get this leadership space and how important it is and they want to learn.”

“It's so important to them to the point that I think it's more important to them than anything else. To have development, to have coaching, mentoring, because they're trailblazers, they're wanting to transform and change the world,” said McDonald.

This trailblazing mindset is great, but developing into a leader needs assistance, it’s extremely difficult for it to blossom and bloom on its own.

“I think we [have to] prepare them now with human and leadership skills as they are coming through the ranks, whether it is in their career, life or business. If we can prepare them now, today to lead for tomorrow, I have hope for our world, for our communities, for our planet and our organisations because we have got some awesome generations coming through who want to lead,” said McDonald.

Along with that need for a nurturing presence, the ability to be able to deal with pressure is crucial for a person being ushered into a leadership role. It’s easy for young people looking to develop into leaders to succumb to the often overwhelming pressure that comes with the territory of being in that role. McDonald, however, puts a spin on the aspect of pressure.

“But it's worthy pressure. It's worthy because leadership is an honour and it's a responsibility. But I think they're up for it. The thing is, we need to prepare them for it. Don't throw them in the deep end without any floaties. We need to be able to train them on how to swim and give them floaties and support, and then we will see if they'll be able to change our world.”

The sink-or-swim mentality eliminates future leaders at a much higher rate than it creates them, so pushing back on that narrative is crucial to increasing the number of much-needed young leaders.

The role of mentors and organisations pushing for the development of their young employees is the most pivotal aspect of this process. Teaching them the importance of leadership is an early step in the right direction.

“Leadership is about helping others do more, learn more, and achieve more. If we're able to recognise and demonstrate the importance of leadership, and if we're able to showcase or educate our future leaders with this growth then [it will prove to make a difference],” said McDonald.

“Helping them with a growth mindset, helping them understand the power of learning, and how the power of learning great human skills will benefit and make a difference to their career and their life.”

Young people themselves can start to work towards those intangibles that are vital in becoming a leader. In a moment of self-reflection, McDonald explained some of the things she wished she had done differently when she was younger and building towards becoming a leader.

“Leadership is an attitude. If I had a time machine, if I could go back to my younger self, I would say to her, start learning leadership and human skills now. Learn how to communicate effectively, learn self-awareness, learn emotional intelligence, learn how to delegate, learn how to connect with people, learn how to manage different personalities.”

“I would go back and say, ‘Please start learning these skills now because it'll make the greatest impact on your life and your career.’ Learning leadership and human skills [is essential for young leaders],” said McDonald.

Organisations must learn to nurture and develop their young talent, it’s not as simple as upgrading them to leadership positions and hoping it works out, especially if they don’t have the intangibles or human skills, that are learnt through experience. The potential of the rise of young leaders is real, it's coming to fruition, but it's up to the support structures that surround them.

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Sonia McDonald, click below:

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.