How can you ensure your leadership development aligns with your organization's risk management strategy?

A 360 degree review will indicate whether your leadership as observed by others is the same/different than what you think it is. Using metrics to assess your leadership means having a solid picture of what you are achieving through your actions. Doing this review every 3-5 years is a reasonable balance between effort to conduct a review and time to implement changes which you want.

In my opinion, we need to take a hard look ahead at what the organization will look like in 3/5/7 years. In my experience this is missed and we assume we have the leadership capability in house. This requires Vision planning, workforce planning and a lot of honesty. Without the work upfront (now), the organization falls behind and misses the opportunity. Then there is panic hiring or restructuring to amend which never works. The word also gets out on the street and applicants go elsewhere and incumbents leave. Management is left scratching its head. Put away the fancy OD models and just talk to each other. The answers will come, the key is to do it now.

Really great article Gene, and leadership capability cannot be over emphasized. I especially like the part about talking to each other. Of the many organizations whom I have consulted with, I often find that they are simply not talking to each other. What I also find however is a lot of talking, but no listening, and hence no real collaboration and execution. I agree with putting away the fancy OD models, and would add to that putting away the EGO's. Your last point of "doing it now" is absolutely critical. I have reminded many clients that the more the organization has to look internally, the more time you have your backs to your customers. Get the internal work done that is necessary so you can shift your focus back to your customers.

A key reason one is regarded as a leader or is elevated into a leadership position is to assist the organisation achieve a set of goals or outcomes. To excel in that journey, one ought to identify any obstacles (risks) that may hinder the achievement of his/her ambitions and more importantly develop strategies to minimize or avoid them (risk management).... Therefore, for one to be a successful leader, their attitude towards risk management in relation to their core mandate should be proactive, forward-thinking, adaptive, collaborative and consistent/vigilance. In a word, good leaders are generally great risk managers.

To ensure alignment between leadership development and an organization's risk management strategy, integrate risk awareness and mitigation into leadership training programs. Incorporate case studies highlighting past organizational risks, emphasize decision-making frameworks that consider risk factors, and provide training on crisis management and response. Additionally, foster a culture of transparency and accountability, encouraging leaders to proactively identify and address potential risks within their teams and projects. Regularly review and update leadership development initiatives to reflect evolving risk priorities and industry best practices.