Making Leaders

Most companies today are struggling because they have promoted technical experts into leadership roles. Bad decision. Why is this a bad decision? I will tell you why. Most technical experts do not understand the responsibility that goes along with being a true leader. They know and understand how to be technical leaders, not necessarily how to be responsible leaders.

Responsible leaders cultivate their judgment skills. Allow me to explain.

It is your responsibility, as a leader to get things done; not do things yourself. Your ability to deliver results depends on how well and how consistently you grow other leaders. How will you do that? Judgment. It takes skill to judge people accurately, imagining what each person’s potential could be. You then must take the initiative to provide opportunities for them to not only contribute to the organization, but also to be tested and hopefully grow.

Responsible leaders are held accountable for the growth of their team. If you do not develop your team, how can you expect those individuals to produce the high quality products you need in order to meet deadlines and deliver over and above what is expected. Let’s face it; over-delivering is what it takes to remain on top these days. In a time when the norm is no longer the norm. We all have to step up our game and deliver better quality products and develop top-notch teams. As responsible leaders, YOU must plan to be successful and deliver quality 10 times out of 10. No exceptions.

Success comes with execution and execution comes with a willing and able team. It is YOUR job as a responsible leader to create that team.

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.