Learning initiatives can help you identify future leaders—those who embrace continual learning by design and demonstrate a capacity for taking risks and learning from both success and failure. In what ways can learning work to prepare your next-generation leaders?

• Gearing it to the employee. Learning isn’t always directly aligned to immediate company goals. Instead, it can relate to preparing those future leaders for challenges they’ll face only once they’ve moved up to a new position. This gives them a sense that the company is investing in them, which can in turn contribute to meeting goals for increased employee engagement or retention of top talent.
• Do it on a “small scale.” Put future leaders in positions of ownership—such as heading a committee or project—that allow them to make and implement decisions and, ultimately, exhibit true leadership.
• Delegate effectively. Giving your team more opportunities to lead means that you can focus on your mission and the company’s growth.

Strategies for professional development should reflect not only current learning needs, but also needs that are likely to emerge as the organization grows, which can help you best leverage your learners and future leaders.

Read the third in our series of Connections to Growth: Leadership guides, Leveraging the Learning Organization, to discover how learning can spur your business’s growth.