Leadership Pipeline
Describes six transitions in leadership roles.
PURPOSE
The Leadership Pipeline is used to systematically plan leadership development and understand the typical transitions in leadership roles. It solves the problem that many organizations promote leaders based on technical competence without considering the changed requirements at each leadership level. This way, development programs can be specifically tailored to the respective leadership passage.
HOW TO USE
First identify which leadership passages are relevant in your organization and where current leaders stand. Analyze the required competencies, time allocations, and work values for each passage. Compare these with the current profiles of your leaders and identify development gaps. Design development measures that specifically prepare for the next transition.
WHAT IT IS
The Leadership Pipeline is a leadership development model by Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and James Noel. It describes six critical transitions (passages) in the leadership career: from individual contributor to first-line manager, from manager of managers, all the way to enterprise leader. Each passage requires a shift in three dimensions: skills, time management, and work values.
EXAMPLE
Example: You are the HR Director of a growing technology company and use the Leadership Pipeline to define the six leadership transitions – from individual contributor to enterprise leader – and design a tailored development program. You discover that the transition from manager of managers to functional manager is the biggest bottleneck because strategic thinking rather than operational expertise is needed here.