Responsible Leadership Pillar #2-Developing Your Team For Today

It is the responsibility of the leader to develop his/her team for right now, not for someday. The leader must be able to provide a skill analysis of each member of the team to determine strengths as well as areas of development. The leader must instill a sense of accountability within his/her team emphasizing constant performance measurement and analysis to show increased productivity. The team should always assume their leadership opportunity will come today. Therefore, the emphasis has to be on preparedness. The leader is responsible for preparing their team for increased responsibility and accountability.

Think of it as a football game. The starting quarterback has just been injured in the big game. You, the coach, are now looking at the bench at the 2nd string quarterback. You ask yourself, “Is he ready? Did I prepare him for this?” If you have done your job as a coach/leader, the answer is a resounding YES. So with confidence you have no problem sending him in and expecting the very best outcome possible.

It is the same with responsible leadership. You are constantly preparing for the big game and these days that game happens everyday. We are in a time when everyone must bring his or her “A” game in order to survive. The example you set and the skills you cultivate in your team will determine the outcome of the game. If you are a responsible leader, you will always be victorious.