Despite the bump (yes, in the long term, it’s a bump) of the current recession, we are still facing the demographic truth that a lot of boomers will be retiring from the active workforce over the next decade. As enterprises across the planet begin to grow again and the excess of unemployed and underemployed workers has been absorbed, we will be back facing a shortage of talented people.

Therefore, in order to put in place the quality and quantity of leaders you will require to expand in this environment, you not only need to hire the right people and retain them. You will need to rapidly develop leadership talent and avoid bottlenecks in what Ram Charan and his colleagues have termed the “leadership pipeline.” The Leadership Pipeline

Here are a few things to consider to build an effective “pipeline” through which to grow and deliver the quality leadership talent you need when you need it:

Talent Management. An array of strategies that involves attracting the right mix of skills and potential, fostering employee engagement & retention, and building the leadership capacity of managers and potential managers.

Succession planning. A comprehensive schema for identifying the mix of skills and experience required for the different leadership levels (Charan’s book is excellent on this), where the organization’s current and anticipated skill gaps exist, and a plan to bridge the gap.

360º assessment & feedback. A survey instrument to acquire input from all directions (i.e. 360º)–boss, peers, employees, and self–on an individual leader’s style, behaviors, and (I strongly recommend) habitual thought patterns that underlie those behaviors. Undergoing an updated 360º every few years helps a leader immensely to target the investment of time, effort and money toward areas that promise the greatest increase in his/her overall leadership effectiveness.

Leadership development programs. Elements such as classroom training, on-the-job coaching and mentoring, one-on-one work with an external coach, on-line learning, special project assignments, and individual reading and reflection can be combined for a customized strategy to develop leadership competencies.

Oh yes, and do check out The Leadership Pipeline.