Workshop 10: Early Identification and Development of Senior Leadership Talent

Building and developing top talent is a critical priority for today’s successful organizations. Figuring out how to do it faster, better, and earlier may soon become a significant competitive advantage. This workshop examines practical methods organizations can use to identify potential senior executives as early as possible and ensure their development. Because of the investment organizations will make in those talented leaders, retention strategies are also a key element of this workshop. The workshop begins with an examination of the business rationale for investing in the early identification and development of talent, including a discussion of the fear that organizations are merely “training their competition” if their high potentials leave. Next, we review techniques for the early identification of senior executive talent. The workshop then focuses on concrete methods organizations can use to develop people for jobs that may yet be years away. In particular, we will explore the challenge of how leaders can develop and use skills that may have huge long-term benefits and yet minimal immediate payoff. A key consideration is knowing how to leverage leaders’ career paths, as well as ensuring that transitions into new roles are successful at each step along the way. Finally, we will consider how these processes align and integrate with typical talent management systems. This workshop should be of interest to practitioners who are responsible for developing and managing talent in organizations, either in a consulting or internal role.

This workshop is designed to help participants:

• Develop a compelling business case for investing in the identification and development of potential senior executives
• Learn specific methods for identifying potential senior executives at various points in their careers
• Explore a variety of techniques for developing potential senior executives and assess their pros and cons
• Learn the key steps and implications for building talent management systems to manage this process
• Understand how to facilitate successful transitions into senior management roles as well as the multiple other transitions potential senior executives face during their career

David B. Peterson is senior vice-president at Personnel Decisions International, where he has served as practice leader for PDI’s world-wide Coaching Services for 16 years. Based in San Francisco, he coaches and consults with top executives to help them achieve faster learning and better results for themselves, their teams, and their organizations. David has coauthored two best selling books on coaching and development (Development FIRST and Leader as Coach) and is a highly regarded speaker and writer on the topics of coaching, executive development, and leadership effectiveness. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Time, Harvard Business School Newsletter, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, and Business Week.

Paul Erdahl is vice-president, Executive and Leadership Development for Medtronic, Inc. in Minneapolis. Paul has a background in total quality management, organization development, learning and education, and executive and leadership development. His career includes positions at USBank, Cargill, and most recently at Medtronic, a business aligned with his core interest of addressing chronic medical conditions. As vice-president of Executive & Leadership Development, Paul works with senior management across Medtronic to identify and develop leadership talent and to build the bench strength needed to address future business challenges. Paul provides leadership to global talent management and leadership development initiatives and manages the company’s organization and succession planning process. Paul holds a PhD in counseling psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a BA in psychology from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

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