A Trek to New Heights

Critical to any company’s long-term growth and business success is a team of managers who are committed, competent and trustworthy. According to management guru Peter Drucker, a manager’s job can be divided into five basic tasks:

• Sets objective:The manager sets goals for the group, and decides what work needs to be done to meet those goals.
• Organises:The manager divides the work into manageable activities, and selects people to accomplish the tasks that need to be done.
• Motivates and communicates:The manager creates a team out of his people, through decisions on pay, placement and promotion, and through his communication with the team.
• Measures:The manager establishes appropriate targets and yardsticks, and analyses, appraises and interprets performance.
• Develops people:The manager invests time and resources to develop people who are the company’s most important asset.

Managers, therefore, play a pivotal role in getting things done by motivating, inspiring, leading and developing others at work.

Besides managers, committed, competent and credible leaders are also needed to lead the company with vision and passion towards a long-term successful future. However, to use the title of Rejeev Peshawaria’s book Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders to put into context, we have too many bosses (“managers”) but too few leaders. According to a survey by Right Management in 2012, the lack of potential leaders is the most pressing human resource challenge organisations expect to face. When asked what they expect to be their organisation’s most pressing human resource challenge in 2012, survey respondents said that it would be lack of high potential leaders in organisation (31%), shortage of talent at all levels (23%) and defection of talent to other organisations (19%).

According to The CARA 2012 Survey Report , Fortune 1000 companies do not have enough leaders coming up through the ranks to fill open and leadership positions. The same report also highlighted three critical skill gaps that leaders in training have: leading others (54%), managing change (43%) and strategic planning/vision development (40%).

Mindful of the leadership challenges that we face in a business world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, CapitaLand is focused on leadership development so that there will always be a ready pool of managers and leaders who can lead the company not only to stay sustainable but also to bring us forward and upward. This is why at our corporate training institute, the CapitaLand Institute of Management and Business (CLIMB), we have the Management-Leadership Trek (MLT)to equip our managers with the right skill set and groom our leaders as they progress in their career in CapitaLand.

Much like scaling a mountain, the MLTis made up of a series of ascending camps representing the following six flagship programmes:

• Base Camp:Personal Effectiveness (7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
• Camp I:New CapitaLand Managers
• Camp II:Essential Skills for Managers
• Camp III:Advanced Skills for Managers
• Camp IV:Essential Skills for Leaders
• Summit:CapitaLand Leadership Development Programme

These camps are designed to:

• Equip all staff to be effective in their personal life and work (Base Camp),
• Impart managerial skills to newly promoted managers (Camp I),
• Hone the managerial skills of managers and senior managers (Camps II and III), and
• Develop emerging leaders who can bring CapitaLand to the next level (Camp IV and Summit).

During these camps, which can last from two to three days and led by competent facilitators, the participants are engaged in a host of activities including lectures, group discussions, case studies, simulations, games, peer-sharing and self-reflection. These activities are all designed to impart pertinent knowledge, skills and values which are critical to effective management and leadership.

An important component of the MLTis the involvement of CapitaLand’s senior management who would make time to be present during the different camps if their schedules permit. Typically, the final hours of a camp will be set aside during which a senior leader will be present to meet with the participants to share his or her personal leadership journey and answer any questions that the participants may have. Such sessions with senior management have always been appreciated by the participants.

Why does CapitaLand invest so much time and resources in growing our managers and grooming our leaders? It is because we believe people are our most important asset. It is people – our managers and our leaders – who will contribute to and lead the growth of CapitaLand’s businesses. Our managers play a pivotal role in executing decisions efficiently and effectively with the right resources, systems and methodologies to produce the desired results. Our leaders, supported by our managers, play the critical role of leading the company with a strategic vision, courageous conviction and the right core values, so that together we can achieve our corporate mission - to build a world-class company, with an international presence and a strong global network that is managed by people whose core values are respected by the business and social community to create sustainable shareholder value, deliver quality products and services, and attract and develop quality human capital .

Consequently, to sustain our growth and achieve our mission, we cannot but must grow our people – at a rate faster than the growth of our businesses and faster than our competitors. It is only when our people keep scaling new heights in their personal growth and professional development that CapitaLand will also continue to scale new heights in its business growth and expansion.

From the Building People Team in CLIMB