I am going to begin this post by letting you know that we work with many fantastic leaders who really care about their people. You know the ones, these are folks who truly want to be great leaders, their staff loves them and they’re doing most of the right things to inspire, motivate and encourage staff. As a result, the ‘best-of-the-best’ stay at their company, their productivity is fantastic and their culture rocks. So why do they hire a Leadership Strategist? Because truly GREAT leaders know they don’t have all the answers, that there is room to grow and because they want to kick it up a notch and make a difference, extending their skills in leadership helps them truly Make the Mark!
What are compelling and interesting are the comments I receive from the people in the trenches, regular every day employees who are doing all the functions to make that business run. I’ll be out at a party or a networking event and someone will ask me what I do. When I say, “I am changing the world one manager at a time”, they almost always comment, “Oh my God, our company sure needs you! The managers at our company make it unbearable. It’s so difficult to show up every day and I am nauseous driving to work. I like the work I do, but there is absolutely NO leadership in our company, it is ALL about the spread sheet!”
Sound familiar? The shocking news is this, that’s the norm and not the exception for many large companies. An even more shocking piece of news is that the managers in these companies truly believe they are great! They don’t hire external consultants in leadership or management development, and many of them are not working diligently to put effective programs in place to retain their most exceptional people or create a better culture. They are executive to middle managers who believe they have nothing more to learn about leadership, yet they are the ones who need it most.
This proves a few points I have discovered in the launching of my own business:
1. A marketing concept that many of us will be familiar with is: ‘people don’t buy what they need, they buy what they want!’ Poor leaders don’t seem to WANT to be better leaders, or they’re not measured on leadership acumen.
2. People or companies who do budget in personal or career development for their leaders truly care about investing in themselves and their company. Great leaders WANT to become even greater.
3. In companies with a struggling culture, there is a significant disconnect between what the executive to middle managers believe and what the rest of the employees actually feel.
Those three topics could incite a full thesis on leadership and management, but I’ll leave that for another day.
With the information above, I challenge you to take a good hard look at yourself and your company. Do a double-take and hip-check on your attitude about growth and personal development. If you’re in the trenches wanting to reach middle management or executive leadership, think about what you’re willing to do now to work on being the best you can be and study to be an exceptional leader.
If you were able to improve on your leadership skills and understand what it takes to really care about the people, would it be worth it? What if you knew that it really is the people who drive the success of the company, wouldn’t you want to make sure you did your best to support them?
What kind of investment are you willing to make? Isn’t your best investment always in yourself?
Life is a cycle with many growth spurts, no one has all the answers (not even me) and here is the deal, those willing to accept that they still have lots to learn are those who will affect the world in the most positive manner.
I choose to be the best I can be. I choose to make a difference by positively affecting the people in my organization. I want to be a great role-model and an exceptional leader. Because of this, I read as many professional and personal development books I can. I take part in as many opportunities as possible to glean knowledge from people who I admire and believe are living the leadership dream.
Start now, if you’re not a leader, start before you get there. For those of you already in a position of affecting the lives of your employees get on board! Recognize there are always ways to improve, always ways to kick it up a notch! Be a Manager Making the Mark!
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Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
So many people go through the motions of work without having the passion to do what you’re talking about here. It’s been interesting working at large companies with a mid-level management corps that considers it self the best of the best (because it looks good at corporate) while being consider sub-par or even sub-human by the rank and file and their unit supervisors. One usually hears the tired phrase “our employees are our most important assets” even though the employees see little evidence of that.
I like the one manager at a time plan. It’s good work to be doing.
Malcolm
I think the environment a company creates either in the form of culture or just the expected norms leaves many potentially good or great leaders stalled or disengaged. One of the keys helping people reach their potential is having a network of trusting people to talk to both in your own organization and externally. Sometimes to find the place where you can really do great work you need to move on to another organization if you can’t find the support where you are.
Ben
Thanks for your very thoughtful comment. You are indeed correct about that, although I do believe in these market times that people will be fearful about taking that kind of leap.
The US and other parts of Canada are on “hurry-up-and-wait” before they seem interested in making moves they deem as ‘risky’. These are interesting times, of course you and I know full well the risks are worth it!
Celebrating the skills and talents one has in an environment that supports those skills and talents certainly makes for some pretty fantastic days! Trying to work within an organization that neither builds performance metrics around leadership or supports the development of human capital and their worth can dissolve inspiration, motivation and self confidence. The messages are clear, get thyself to a company that lives with your core values.
Have a great week and thanks again, Ben!
Very insightful article! I would like to add the following…
If you have ever had a truly great boss, you know what a difference he/she can make to your own motivation for doing the best you can. Of course those bosses are rare. However, no matter what your current environment feels like, you can always strive to be a great leader for your own subordinates. They will appreciate and remember you long afterwards. Even if it costs you your own job, if you always treat the people under your wing with compassion and respect, the rewards will come later and in great abundance.
Patti, you should consider expanding this article into a book. I would buy it for a couple of my former employers to read…
Sincerely,
Vaughn
Thanks Vaughn,
“Even if it costs you your own job…”
That comment is filled with integrity, and a true sense of value for people. It’s an extremely small world, a reputation follows a person for years and years afterward, be it good or bad and generally it all catches up with you. Making the choice to have positive interactions catch up with you garners respect and a sense of having contributed value to the world. The other, well I suppose we can feel for the folks who will spend their retirement days in lonely isolation!
Have a fantastic week, Vaughn!
If you want to be a strong leader, you need to “own” your growth and personal development. In order to determine where you need to grow, you need to have good self awareness of your strengths and areas for development. Regardless of where you fit into the organizational structure, create a culture where it is “safe” for your employees to provide open and honest feedback on your performance (both good and not so good). Build trusting relationships and ask for feedback. Be open to what is being said and truly listen to others’ perspectives – you may be amazing at what you hear! By modelling this behaviour, you have the opportunity to not only grow and develop yourself but also influence and inspire others to do the same thing.
Thanks for your comments, you are truly right – in developing the careers of others, you do wonders in developing yourself as a leader.
I appreciate the positive feedback!