Expert details how employers can use analytics to both pick and prepare workers for leadership roles
Managers play an important part in retaining employees in the workplace today, so it’s important to pick the right person for that leadership role, one expert told HRD.
And when looking for that right person, looking into their behavioural fit with the leadership role requirement is key, says David Lahey, founder and CEO of Predictive Success, in talking with HRD.
“When we hire people based on their DNA fit to the job model, we tend to have… happier employees. And when we have people whose behaviour fits the job model, we have faster onboarding, we have more loyal employees, we have people with less drama and people who are less absent at work, because the job just fits them behaviourally.”
Different leadership roles require different behaviours from leaders, he says.
“The best project managers have a high level of assertiveness. They can be very technical, but creative. They have a great sense of urgency, and they can move and have a tenacious orientation. They're very proactive, and they don't get stuck. They have just the right amount of details to get things done.
“And so if that's the model that we're looking to hire as a supervisor, people that fit into that will have a faster time to success.”
Leadership behaviour key to innovation, according to a previous report.
What happens when you promote wrong people?
One thing that some employers do is pick the wrong people for leadership roles, says Lahey.
“They take that person who's a wonderful individual contributor, very loyal, and they're very meticulous, perhaps, and very sequential, very detailed, and then they force him into a managerial position that doesn't suit them.
“And so what happens is they lose a great employee, because they just can't… make the leap.”
The best supervisors are leaders who behaviourally fit the requirements of the job, he says, “and also are trained to be self-aware leaders, and trained to be able to manage from the world of the employee.”
A key component when it comes to integrating career planning, coaching and mentoring to guide learning and development initiatives is how employers link company values to individual core competencies, including behaviours, that support those values, one expert previously told HRD.
How can behavioural analytics help?
To be more precise in this selection process, employers can tap into the powers of behavioural analytics to create a picture, says Lahey.
“Does that job require someone to be very assertive or less assertive? Does that job require someone to be very analytical and technical or very persuasive? Does the job require someone who has a tremendous ability to be with variety, or more sequential? And does that job require someone to have an awful lot of detail, or more informal?”
Once employers create a behavioural model, they can follow it up with the cognitive model, he says. And then, employers can look to hire the people that fit those criteria.
“That is an objective way of hiring that brings in people that fit behaviourally, and adds to the ability to hire people, not just based on their resume, but based on their potential with alignment to the behaviour” needed for the job, says Lahey.
There is a rising demand for leadership skills among businesses, according to a previous report by Udemy.
Behavioural analytics can also be useful in preparing workers for that leadership role, says Lahey.
Behavioural analytics “will really help you understand that leader, their style, and how to train them to be more effective as a supervisor,” he says.
“Certain leadership styles are going to be more proactive, more direct, and they can have a certain reaction from the employees. And other leadership status styles are more collaborative. Once the leader has been selected, then training them up to be aware of their footprint, and how to best interact with their team, other employees, is the best enabler.”
