Before you ask someone else to take on the responsibility of a leadership development team, there’s a couple of questions that you should probably have answered yourself already.
We’ve talked about the need for planning and preparation, and here are a few questions that will help you prepare before you pitch:
Who: Develop An Identity
Who is the organization that you are pitching the idea to? Are they a local school? Is it a church? Who the organization is and what they do will determine how you approach them about leadership development. Do you belong to this organization? Do you have any existing relationship with this group? Are they a fit for a leadership development team? You probably wouldn’t pitch a leadership development team to a local book club, but you wouldn’t hesitate to make sure your school district has a leadership development program in place.
Why: Develop A Reason
Why would the organization that you are pitching to want to start a leadership development team? Is there something about the organizations purpose or mission that points to developing young leaders? Are they equipped to carry out the team or program? An organization is going to want to know why they would do what you’re asking them to do. Make sure you have an answer for them.
Answering this question might require some research. Do it. It’s time well spent if it answers questions before they are asked.
How: Develop a Way
How can this particular organization be a catalyst for leadership development? This may seem a lot like the why question, but it is different. With why we gave them a reason, now we’re giving them a way. Know the organization that you’re pitching to so well that you maneuver their resources and talents around like a conductor before her orchestra. They know these resources exist within their organization, they may just not know how to use them to develop leaders. You do. You asked: How? Know how they could specifically pull off a leadership development team, and be ready to show them when you meet.
What: Develop a Vision
Finally, ask: what benefit can a leadership development team bring to this organization? What benefit can it bring to their community? What will be the end result of a leadership development team at this place and at this time. This question develops a vision for you and for the organization that you’re pitching to. It helps you see (and them, subsequently) what it is you’re working towards. This is very important. Without vision, this idea won’t last long. This last question will become very important as this process continues.
If you’re about to pitch the idea of a leadership development team to someone, I hope you’ve already asked yourself these questions. If you haven’t, take some time and mull them over. When it comes to pitch time, you’ll be glad you did.
Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,
Matt
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