Solving Your Leadership Gap

Tips for Developing New Leaders

By Tom Roth

One of the most alarming current global business trends points to one of the most tantalizing business opportunities.

As baby boomers retire, the ranks of managers and supervisors are being depleted. Organizations are also losing the wisdom carried by experience, hard-won repositories of technical knowledge, and personal case studies of problem-solving. Further, networks of professional contacts that aided internal and external collaboration, innovation, and team performance are gradually diminished and weakened as baby boomers exit the workplace.

Most organizations, by their own report, are not doing enough to address this impending short supply of internal leadership.

From the perspective of millennials and members of post-baby boom demographics, this leadership vacuum is disempowering and frustrating. When leadership is ad hoc and constantly churning, it is difficult to win resources and commitment for projects or plans that extend beyond the organization’s current [fiscal year, or even shorter] event horizon.

It Begins with a Shift in Focus

If your organization is one of the 94% of global businesses that admit to not doing enough to secure the leadership future of the organization, you’re probably wondering what it will take, what it will look like, and where to begin to create an internal context that assures the ongoing development of leadership.

It begins with an understanding of the fundamental transformation that must take place as “high performers” become team leaders, supervisors, and first-time managers.

This demands expanding beyond knowledge acquisition and skill development. It affects the head, hands, and heart of every high performer who successfully makes the transition to effective leadership.

Most organizations, by their own report, are not doing enough to address this impending short supply of internal leadership.

Tom Roth

Tom Roth is Chief Operating Officer of Wilson Learning Worldwide Inc. (U.S.) and President of Wilson Learning Worldwide Inc. (Japan). With more than 40 years of experience developing and implementing human performance improvement solutions, Mr. Roth is responsible for the strategic direction and business performance of Wilson Learning Worldwide Inc. operations. In addition, he leads the global marketing services and R&D solutions group, which is responsible for the research and development of all solutions and position papers. Mr. Roth assists global executive leadership teams with issues related to employee engagement, leadership development, strategy alignment, and business transformation. Before assuming his current role, he was President of the global R&D and solution development groups and also served as President of Wilson Learning Corporation.

Mr. Roth has extensive experience developing and implementing human performance improvement solutions. He is coauthor of the book Unplugged: How Organizations Lose Their Energy and How to Get It Back, coauthor of the book Creating the High-Performance Team, and is published in numerous business publications. Mr. Roth is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and client events, presenting on a wide variety of issues including leadership, employee engagement, change, and strategy implementation.