How Successful People Lead Part 10

Only leaders can develop other people to become leaders. A well-intentioned person with no leadership knowledge and experience cannot train another person to lead. Theorists who study leadership without practicing it cannot equip someone to lead, any more than a cookbook reader who has no experience in the kitchen would be able to teach someone how to cook. n.o.body really understands leadership until he or she does it. Put another way...

It Takes a Leader to KNOW a Leader (Recruiting and Positioning) It Takes a Leader to SHOW a Leader (Modeling and Equipping) It Takes a Leader to GROW a Leader (Developing, Empowering, and Measuring) In light of that truth, my goal in this section on People Development is to give you a clear path to follow as you seek to develop other people to lead. If you want to make the most of People Development and raise up others to lead, then follow these guidelines.

1. Recruiting-Find the Best People Possible Recruiting is the first and most important task in developing people and creating winning organizations. You can't develop people without potential-no matter how hard you work at it. So the people you recruit must possess natural ability in the area where they are to be developed, exhibit the desire to grow, and be a good fit for the organization.

The key to success in recruiting is a clear picture of who you are looking for. Recruiting a nonleader to be developed in leadership is like asking a horse to climb a tree. It just isn't going to happen. If you want a potential tree climber, find a squirrel. If you want a potential leader, find someone with the traits of a good leader.

When I go looking for potential leaders, I use what I call the Four Cs.

Chemistry If you don't like the person, you will not be an effective mentor to him or her. It's very difficult to spend time with people, be open with them, and invest in them if you don't like them and want to be around them.

If you are seriously considering recruiting or promoting someone, ask members of your team to spend time with that individual, preferably in a social setting. After they've been around the person, find out if your team likes and would enjoy working with him or her. If not, there may not be a good fit.

Character Good character makes trust possible. Trust makes strong relationships possible. Strong relationships make mentoring possible. You won't be able to develop someone whose character you do not trust.

Character is what closes the gap between knowing and doing. It aligns intentions and action. That consistency is appealing, and it is also essential to good, credible leadership. Jim Rohn observed, "Good people are found, not changed." If you go into a mentoring relationship expecting to change a person's character, you're liable to be disappointed.

Capacity If you want to develop people and help them become good leaders, you must not ask for what they wish they could give, only for what they have the potential to give. As you look at potential leaders, try to a.s.sess their capacity in the following areas: Stress Management-their ability to withstand and overcome pressure, failure, deadlines, and obstacles Skill-their ability to get specific tasks done Thinking-their ability to be creative, develop strategy, solve problems, and adapt Leadership-their ability to gather followers and build a team Att.i.tude-their ability to remain positive and tenacious amid negative circ.u.mstances As a leader, your goal should be to identify the capacities of potential leaders, recognize what they think their capacities are, and motivate, challenge, and equip them in such a way that they close the gap between the two.

Contribution Some people possess an X factor. They are winners. They contribute beyond their job responsibilities, and they lift the performance of everyone on their team. When you discover people with these characteristics, recruit them. They are a joy to develop, and whatever you put into them returns to you many times over.

Most leaders spend their time and energy on the wrong people: the bottom 20 percent. The individuals who usually take up most of a leader's time are the troublemakers, the complainers, and those who are struggling. These people often have the least potential to lead others and take the organization forward. Level 4 leaders focus their best time and energy on the top 20 percent, the people who don't need attention but would most profit from it.

2. Positioning-Placing the Right People in

the Right Position

It's not enough just to recruit good team members. A leader must understand how those people best fit on the team and put them there. To do that, he must have a clear picture of each person's strengths and weakness and understand how they fit the needs of the team.

Some leaders take a counseling approach to developing people. By that I mean that they focus on what the person is doing poorly or wrong, and they focus their attention on helping them make corrections in those areas. If you want to develop people, though, you must help them discover and build upon their strengths. That's where people have the most potential to grow. Helping to develop their strengths is the only way to help leaders become world-cla.s.s.

3. Modeling-Showing Others How to Lead Few things are worse than the teacher who is unteachable. As a leader, you will reproduce what you are. For example, if you remain teachable, your people will remain teachable. If your mind is closed, the minds of the people you mentor will probably be closed. You set the tone for those who follow you.

One of the secrets of developing leaders on Level 4 is to have the people you are mentoring beside you as often as possible so that they can learn how you think and act in a variety of situations. Here are the things I believe I must display, or model, with integrity in order to help people to develop on Level 4: Authenticity-This is the foundation for developing people.

Servanthood-This is the soul for developing people.

Growth-This is the measurement for developing people.

Excellence-This is the standard for developing people.

Pa.s.sion-This is the fuel for developing people.

Success-This is the purpose for developing people.

Your goal at first is for them to observe as you model leadership. But as quickly as you can, move on to the next phase of development.

4. Equipping-Helping Others

Do Their Jobs Well

It's not enough to simply tell people what they need to do. That's not developing their potential. Instead, a leader must help them to do their jobs and do them well. The best method I've ever found is a five-step equipping process. Here's how it works: Step 1-I do it (competence).

Step 2-I do it and you are with me (demonstration).

Step 3-You do it and I am with you (coaching).

Step 4-You do it (empowerment).

Step 5-You do it and someone is with you (reproduction).

If you adopt this method, not only will you equip leaders, you will begin teaching them how to equip others, which sets them up to become Level 4 leaders themselves.

5. Developing-Teaching Them

to Do Life Well

If the only thing you're helping a new leader learn is how to get ahead in the workplace, you're not truly developing that person to succeed, because there's a lot more to life than work and career. The Center for Creative Leadership has observed that three key elements drive leadership development in others.

a.s.sessment As a Level 4 leader, you should be continually on the lookout for holes in the life skills of someone you are leading and developing. Ask yourself: Where does this person seem to be failing?

Where are this person's blind spots?

What does my intuition tell me is "off" in this person's thinking?

Why isn't this person reaching his or her potential?

Who might be leading this person in a wrong direction?

When does this person do well?

When does this person stumble?

What telltale clues can I find that give me insight into where this person needs help?

Where is this person's sweet spot?

A good Level 4 leader is always on the lookout for a person's weaknesses and wrong thinking-not to exploit that person, but to strengthen and help him or her succeed.

Challenge If you've done your work on Level 2 to build a strong relationship with the people on your team, and you've proven yourself on Level 3 by demonstrating success and modeling productivity, there is a very good chance that people on your team will buy into your leadership and accept a challenge from you to improve. To present that challenge, ask the people you lead to do the following: Read books related to their areas of strength.

Attend conferences that will inspire them.

Take on new and challenging tasks in their sweet spot.

Practice difficult disciplines that slowly build character.

Meet with you on a regular basis for mentoring.

The idea is to challenge them in the areas of their lives where you see that they need improvement. Just be sure to gain their permission to do it before starting the process.

Support n.o.body gets ahead in life without the help and support of other people. One of the great privileges of leading on the People Development level is helping new leaders navigate through life's difficulties.

It's difficult for people to make the most of their leadership potential when the rest of their lives is a wreck. Good life skills help a person to create a strong foundation upon which to build a family, career, and spiritual life. I admit that I get the greatest joy from seeing people reach their leadership potential, but it is also very satisfying to know that I've helped someone to enjoy life and live it well.

6. Empowering-Enabling People to Succeed Empowerment means helping people to see what they can do without your help, and releasing them to do it. As you release tasks to the leaders you're developing, you need to trust them, believe in them, and hold them accountable. Trust creates a bond between you and them. When I trust the people I empower, I put a little piece of myself into their hands. When they respond in kind, the shared vulnerability creates a bond that deepens the relationship.

When you believe in people, you motivate them. And the belief must be genuine. Pretending you believe provides no pa.s.sion for empowerment. Nor can you borrow the belief from someone else, because it will have no power. You must draw upon the experiences you have with people and the growth that they have already exhibited. Besides helping them, it will also help you. If you don't believe in them, you won't be able to let go and release them to achieve.

When you hold people accountable, you increase their chances for positive results. Why? Because everyone finds focus in goals. They work better toward deadlines. And they usually rise to the level of a leader's expectations. Without accountability, people drift. With it, they achieve results.

7. Measuring-Evaluating Those Whom You

Develop to Maximize Their Efforts

Many people look at winning sports teams and attribute the team's success to how knowledgeable the coach is. But games aren't won according to what the coach knows. Games are won according to what the coach's players have learned. How can you measure that as a leader? By judging how independently your team members are able to function.

The Center for Organizational Leadership in Cincinnati, Ohio, suggests that leaders should employ different degrees of empowerment, based on how independently a team member can work. Here are the six they recognize, from least independent to most independent: Look into it. Report. I'll decide what to do.

Look into it. Report alternatives with pros and cons and your recommendation.

Look into it. Let me know what you intend to do, but don't do it unless I say yes.

Look into it. Let me know what you intend to do and do it unless I say no.

Take action. Let me know what you did.

Take action. No further contact required.

As you work in People Development with team members, you can measure where they are based on how they typically function according to those six benchmarks. Obviously, your goal is to help them become leaders who can take action without needing your input. When the leaders you develop reach that benchmark, then they-and you-are ready to lead them at the highest level of leadership, Level 5.

Beliefs That Help a Leader Move

Up to Level 5

If you have managed to move up to Level 4, you are leading at a very high level, higher than 90 percent of all other leaders. But there is still one level higher that may be within your reach. Fewer than 1 percent of all leaders achieve it. To prepare yourself to attempt that final climb and give yourself the best chance of making it to the top, you must first embrace the following beliefs.

1. The Highest Goal of Leadership Is to

Develop Leaders, Not Gain Followers

or Do Work