Shaping the Future: Capability Building

We have now come to the last of the 8 "key themes" for driving sustainable organisational performance identified in the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) report "Sustainable Organisation Performance: What Really Makes the Difference." This week we will look at: "Capability Building." 

Once again this would appear to be self-explanatory but for the record the report defines it as, "Equipping the people in the organisation with the skills and knowledge they need to meet both present and future challenges. However, capability-building applies not only to the individuals, but also to teams and organisations. It involves identifying existing and future required capabilities and ensuring they are in place or accessible across the organisation."

This also seems obvious and again it is alarming that this theme was only identified in Phase 2 of the research and not from the start. After all, according to the report:-

• Capability building needs to be a continuous process; 
• Building capability is an integral part of successful organisational development and change programmes;
• Management capability is essential; 
• Different management capabilities are required in difficult times;
• Organisations need to be creative about how they build staff capability in testing times.

Actually, even though these seem obvious, I am not sure that I even buy into them. A leader with a clear sense of purpose and clearly identified values should be just as capable of leading in difficult times as good. Thus once again it seems that the report is extending the present management approach rather than looking to create something new.

Remember, we are talking about people here, and you lead people more effectively than you manage them. You cannot build people's capabilities; you can only provide an environment which realises them. In other words, you need to create a culture in which your people are able to release their own potential. To do that, people need to get a sense of what they are capable of and pursue that to their utmost. 

The fact is that nobody actually likes being managed. Inherently we all like to be given an objective and the tools we need to get on with it ourselves. With the joy of independence, responsibility and a sense of purpose we simply press on and do what we have to do. And then hopefully bask in the satisfaction of achievement, fair reward and appreciation of a job well done. That is what employee engagement is ultimately all about.

So if you continue to manage with the conviction that capability-building is something in your remit, you effectively suffocate it at birth. Training is the most obvious way of developing capability but if you see this as something that you need to manage you lose the power it offers. If you are afraid of the risk that your people will exploit the training you provide and then move on, perhaps even to the competition, you will see that happen. Capability building is a joint venture between you and your employee, and the sooner as you see it as such the more you will both prosper.

Rather than trying to be creative about how you build staff capability in difficult times, if you and your employees see it in this light, they will be up for the challenge of testing times and identify for themselves what they need. Surely that is more like the future you would like to create – a future where you have to worry less about managing and let the people manage themselves. Isn't that really what leadership is all about? Why would you want to make life even more difficult for yourself – and ultimately set yourself up for failure?

It is such a pity that this report misses a golden opportunity and fails to tell you how to shape the kind of future you really want.