Any organization with any level of intelligence knows the importance of acquiring great young talent but then having a plan for their success.
On April 25th, the NFL Draft took place in Nashville, TN. The Washington Redskins selected Ohio State quarterback Dwyane Haskins with the 15th overall selection. One of people highest on Haskins’ potential was ESPN analyst Louis Riddick. In fact, Riddick had him as the highest rated passer in the Draft.
Riddick is one of my go-to resources on organizational development and player evaluation. Few people also have the ability to communicate complex ideas as succinctly and clearly as Riddick.
Listed below are comments he made about Haskins shortly after the selection. As I listened to his thoughts, I gleaned 10 Things Organizations Must Do To Set Young Leaders Up For Success:
- Organizations Must Properly Evaluate Young Leaders – “He can do it all… You can’t penalize him for having weapons at his disposal.”
- Organizations Must Put Young Leaders With A Great Manager Or Supervisor – “You can’t penalize him for having an offensive coordinator like Ryan Day who’s now the head coach.”
- Organizations Must Provide A Great Culture For The Young Leader To Thrive In – “You can’t penalize him for those things because he took advantage of everything that was given to him”
- Organizations Must Reward Young Leader Performance – “everything he earned.”
- Organizations Must Surround Young Leaders With Emotionally Healthy, Veteran Leaders – “He is a guy going into a situation as far as the Quarterback Room is concerned that is perfect for him. He has Case Keenum there. Alex Smith will be around.”
- Organizations Must Provide Training And Mentorship For Young Leaders – “He has two people he can learn from”
- Organizations Must Be Patient With Young Leaders – “that can be patient with him.”
- Organizations Must Put Young Leaders Alongside Competent Co-Workers. Don’t Put Eagles With Turkeys – “They need to get him some weapons, make sure the running game is great.”
- Organizations Must Provide An Advocate, Champion, Or Cheerleader For Young Leaders – “They made a slam dunk pick… The immobility argument is just ridiculous. It’s just not true.”
- Organizations Must Evaluate Young Leaders On Production, Not Just Potential – “Against ranked opponents (Haskins played), 20 touchdown passes. 2 interceptions. It’s the third most touchdown passes in the last 15 years against ranked opponents.”
What is one thing from the list above you can do to better develop young leaders in your organization?
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