A critical responsibility of leaders is people development.  It may be the single most important activity of leaders who are always thinking about and planning for the future.

Supervisors, managers, and executives should continuously model, message, teach, and train others to serve as successful leaders now and in the future. Leaders are coaches, mentors, and role models. They can leave a profound and lasting impact on others influencing them and the organization for years and decades after they retire.

In a healthy and successful entity, much of organizational life does not require changing on a regular basis.  For example, most policies and procedures do not need to be rewritten by the leadership each month or even every year. This frees up leaders to invest their time and themselves in the positive professional growth and leadership development of others.  In fact, much of the workday of a leader should be spent coaching others. If it is not, leaders should ask themselves and each other why not?

Helping a new member of the team grow to the point when they can effectively handle a leadership role is a lengthy process.  People are not born leaders.  It takes specific types of thinking and behaviors acquired over a lengthy period of time.  Many lessons in communication, coordination, motivation, analysis, problem-solving, teamwork, culture, vision, mission, goals, objectives, organization, planning, and alignment take time to teach.  Sharpening specific skills such as research, writing, and presentation occurs through repetition and improvement over years.

Successful leaders enjoy aiding others to be their best. They see who the person can be sometimes even before their mentee can recognize it.  They work to fulfill that vision of the person optimizing their talents for the greatest contribution in serving others as a leader.  They find that assisting others to excel as leaders is highly rewarding.  As Maxwell notes, they especially enjoy seeing their mentees now become mentors.

They create and sustain a culture of people development. They see contributing to the success of others as their success. They foster this perspective throughout the organization.

Leaders are not the most intelligent, longest serving, credentialed, or charismatic individuals in the organization.  They do have a drive for coaching and mentoring others to be the leaders we all would want to have.  If working to make sure members of the team can give others the greatest benefit of their abilities appeals to you, then leadership might be the right role (Abrashoff, 2002; Blanchard, 2011; Drucker, 2001; Grant, 2017; Kotter, 2012; Lencioni, 2012; Maxwell, 1998; Welch, 2005).

#LeadershipLessonswithDrSaviak

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR