However, we cannot undermine the significance of human interaction and experience for a better world. Young minds need mentorship to develop their professionalism, value-centric leadership and their ability to make better and faster decisions. Success is a relative term which means different to different people, but taking ownership is important for being successful. But, the question is – Do organisations work on creating true future leaders instead of just managers? Typically, when any organization, big or small enterprise or multinationals, wants to make progress and grow, it usually hires professionals from the external market rather than internally. However, on the flip side, many organizations benefit from internal placements as they already have candidates, holding necessary skills and leadership required to steer the organization towards greater heights of success. An added advantage of hiring from within the organization is that they are already familiar with the company’s culture & internal processes. With focused training and structured development interventions, these internal candidates can further be developed into effective leaders. A company’s growth and success is not just about building infrastructure and creating processes in place. True success demands impactful leadership that inspires the youth to give their best to the organization. To develop young minds, one has to have a multi-dimensional aspect of nurturing talent, which includes imparting contemporary knowledge, building their skillset and inculcating team spirit to become effective future leaders of their organizations. Many organizations initiate leadership development programs that provide an opportunity to explore individual strengths, increase understanding of effective leadership and refine strategies for sustained advantage. These programs offer a unique blend of real-time projects, on-ground activities and hands-on experience. This draws focus on developing greater confidence, creativity, resourcefulness, taking initiative and problem-solving capabilities. For a company to evolve and grow, creative and innovative ideas play a key role to help the company lead from the front. Thus, it is imperative to engage with youth and provide them with the necessary tools and environment to be creative and resourceful.
PTCL FUEL PROGRAM
Knowing the significance of developing and nurturing future leaders, Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL), a national company, has shown its commitment by recognizing the achievements, resilience and commitment of its high performing employees through its flagship Future Leaders Program (FUEL). Through a rigorous process, top employees are selected and undergo various training sessions and mentorship over a period of 2 years that helps them for taking on future leadership roles of the company. The program provides a remarkable opportunity to young professionals in the company to harness their talent and evolve as strategic leaders of tomorrow.
We believe that employees are the biggest asset of any successful organization and the significance of identifying their strengths and further enhancing them is the key to success. According to the details available, FUEL Program prepares top talent in the company for challenges of tomorrow through various experiential learning and development opportunities. Such programs are important to be initiated in organizations as it is focused on high performing employees. Employees are motivated to take on wider responsibilities that allow them to achieve greater success in a shorter period of time. Not only that, but they also become future mentors equipped with knowledge and skills that they can impart to their respective teams. Big organizations like PTCL have the capacity and infrastructure to provide the selected employees with the opportunity of job rotations and cross-functional stints to gain a holistic understanding and knowledge of the organization. In the long run, a company’s most important assets are its employees rather than just having the right infrastructure and technology. If you don’t provide a right platform for them to prosper and grow, you risk losing the pillars that hold the company together. The need of the hour is to have initiatives that nurture and develop the next generation of leaders in Pakistan.
