When I work with clients or even when I am speaking at an event, I always incorporate an activity where I ask people to name things that they think leaders need to possess or demonstrate and ask them, What does a leadership skill look like?

Typical responses are...

* They have emotional intelligence.
* They are open-minded and willing to change.
* They have a growth mindset.
* They are charismatic and have influence.
* They are people focused.
* They are selfless.

Then I ask the audience to take a mental step back and look at that list overall and see if they see a theme or a label that they can give it.

Inevitably, there is an a-ha light bulb that goes off and they say, “These are all characteristics or behaviors.” These are not skills. So why are we always hearing in the popular press, in advertisements, in marketing that you must teach your folks leadership skills when really the ‘skills’ are behaviors?

We know a ‘leader’ because of his or her behavior. One of my favorites to bring up for discussion is “A leader is ethical.” When do we ever teach somebody to be ethical? How do you teach someone to be ethical? Across the board we expect a leader to demonstrate that they have ethics, but we never really define it or teach it to them.

That is step one in your succession planning.

First and foremost, you must define what a leadership characteristic or behavior looks like in your organization. The last part -in your organization- is the important part because every organization has a different style and culture, not to mention different stakeholders with their expectations. Ethics in a healthcare organization is going to have a little different flavor than ethics in a manufacturing organization or in a broadcasting organization.

So step one is to be very purposeful about defining how leaders in your organization behave so that you A) can start teaching it or B) know what you are screening/interviewing for if you must hire people from outside to fill leadership roles. Having a defined set of leadership behaviors (think of it as a leadership avatar) gives you peace of mind in knowing that you are hiring people who will align with the values and the culture of your organization.

Having a defined set of leadership behaviors (think of it as a leadership avatar) gives you peace of mind in knowing that you are hiring people who will align with the values and the culture of your organization.

One last thing to consider: The thing about behaviors is that you really cannot teach them. We develop behaviors based on experiences or belief systems or reflecting on things that have happened to us, that shape us into who we are.

You can see -just looking around you in society- that not everybody demonstrates the same behaviors. So please begin your succession planning by defining what leadership behavior in your organization looks like, so that you can train to or hire it from the outside if you need to.

Does your organization have a clearly defined set of leadership behaviors (most don’t)?

This article was originally published on LinkedIn