Leadership In Process
Building A Team of Leaders

Lessons In Leadership

What If? – your team consisted of only individuals that possessed the same drive, determination and passion for their job as you do?

Imagine – how your production would increase?
Imagine – how your time would be maximized?
Imagine – how quickly your organization would grow?

Wouldn’t a team full of competent and enthusiastic, self-motivated leaders, working together for a common mission - become a prime example of LEADERSHIP within your organization?

What If? – each member of your team took complete ownership of the organizations results?

Envision no one being willing to pass the buck for something not getting done.

Assume every team member was fully committed to doing his/her job to the utmost while also making every effort to ensure each co-worker was successful.

Does this sound even remotely plausible? Or, does the above scenario sound completely unrealistic, some sort of unachievable utopia?

What If? – you never had to hear an excuse again for why something didn’t or “couldn’t” get done? Visualize your entire team focusing their questions on “how we can” vs. “why we can’t”.

Never again would you hear the words, “There’s not enough time”, or “There’s too much paperwork”, or “Our turnover is just simply too high”.

What If? – all of the above scenarios were absolutely achievable? Would it be worth the time and effort to make it happen?

The process of establishing strong leadership within an organization is in part based on a leader’s commitment to grow and develop the next generation of competent and effective leaders.

In order to identify those who have the ability and willingness to lead, you need to assess each team member and determine if he or she is currently meeting your expectations and if the employee is capable of achieving much more with some additional coaching, support.

To grow a team of leaders, you must first address any team member who is presently “out of alignment”.

Allowing even one person to remain “out of alignment”, (meaning the individual is not engaged – not contributing- not buying-in to the goals of the team/organization) puts a much greater workload on to every other team member.

If the employee in question is simply present in order to receive the benefits of the job, but is unwilling to make even the smallest sacrifice for the good of the team, then he or she is “out of alignment”, and has in fact become – dead weight.

The leader must immediately recognize and address this kind of non-contributing, “atrophied” employee and quickly either coach him UP or coach him OUT.

NEVER allow the team to be imprisoned or shackled by sanctioning the presence of low expectations.

There can be no tolerance to allow those with no ambition to learn and grow, to peacefully reside in your workplace. You WILL get exactly what you expect. Make certain that you are very clear with yourself and your employees just exactly what those expectations are.

The next step to ensuring your team exemplifies Leadership In Process is by creating what we call a “Leadership Team”, within - your existing team.

To learn more about how to develop a highly effective leadership team within your team, continue on to the next section. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and create something GREAT!

The following is not simply an activity or exercise. Rather, it is a program to introduce and lead within your organization or team that will help to create the means for maximum results.

People who are willing CAN be developed into leaders – leadership comes from a combined set of skills, not simply the result of possessing a certain genetic code.

In order to create a team of fully functional leaders, you must provide the necessary environment and opportunity for your team members to thrive.

By creating an opportunity for “selected” individuals to participate on a special leadership team within the larger group, you can send a strong message about the kinds of people you seek to invest in, and in effect communicate what you are looking for in those persons you are willing to support for future promotions.

Not all employees will “make the cut”. Some employees:

1. May want to lead but simply aren’t willing to make the necessary changes in order to qualify for the team.
2. Won’t be willing to do what it takes in order to meet the higher expectations that will be communicated to those persons invited to participate in the leadership team process.
3. Are only interested in what’s in it for them, versus clearly understanding the broader picture of what’s important to the team and the organization.

These are the folks who you really need to assess for “alignment” issues, as stated in the earlier section.

Odds are that you may have opportunity to improve the overall quality of your entire team simply by holding these lower performing employees to a higher degree of accountability.

For the team members remaining, the ones who are eager, enthusiastic, determined, willing and able – these are the people who are the next generation of leaders in your organization. These are the aspiring leaders who are deserving of your extra time and resources.

Here are 7 rules for creating a leadership team:

1. Membership must be voluntary. (Consider having a formal application process to select your initial leadership team members.)
2. Start out with only a few highly productive team members, no more than 10-20% of your overall team. This creates an “elite” status that can help inspire others to start paying close attention, and to apply for the leadership team at the next opportunity.
3. Market the Leadership Team process throughout your organization – create a BUZZ that gets people wondering what all the excitement is about. Continue to market the process of the leadership team as the team continues to grow and add value to the organization.
4. Set HIGH expectations and clear goals for your leadership team. Treat them with the same level of dignity, respect and admiration that you have for your most trusted mentor. Identify and provide some “perks” for the leadership team participants. Subtle perks will keep team members inspired and will also help to inspire non-leadership team members to work harder to make the cut next time.
5. Be willing to invest time, money and resources – understanding full well that you need to ensure a healthy return on your investment. Ask yourself what the added time and dollars are bringing (or will bring) to your bottom-line, and keep your expectations high.
6. Establish a formal leadership curriculum. Expose team members to all areas of the business and work with each person to develop a realistic career plan – based on their strengths and areas of interest.
7. Empower your leadership team to LEAD – only by actually leading others will each member of the leadership team gain the skills and insights for becoming a highly effective leader.

Now then, imagine for a moment that you are one year into the process of developing your all-star leadership team. As a result of your efforts you now have multiplied yourself by a factor 10-20%, right?

This is where it gets really exciting! Go one step farther and imagine that you have assigned each of your graduating leadership team members to select and establish their own brand new leadership team within your organization. Envision each separate leadership team competing with one another – all for the betterment of the entire organization.

Are you a leader that can create and maintain the necessary energy and enthusiasm for a task this great?

Assuming you are, just think of where your organization might be in terms of leadership, promotional bench-strength, employee retention – not to mention increased production and overall business growth.

All of these extraordinary results can be yours by taking the time and care to invest in and grow the leadership abilities of your workforce.

It’s critical that we maintain “right” thinking.

Andrew Carnegie said, “I would not give a fig for a young man in business who does not already see himself a partner, or the head of the firm. Say each day to yourself, My place is higher up!. Vow that you will reach the position with untarnished reputation, and make no other vow to distract your attention.”

Orison Marden stated in his book, Ambition – “The youth who does not look up will look down, and the spirit that does not soar is destined to grovel.”

Why be afraid to demand great things of yourself? Affirm your ability to do and be the thing you always dreamed of. Believe – Work Hard – and watch the unimaginable leap to your assistance! Don’t wait, begin it now.

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