They say too many cooks spoil the broth, but having too few
leaders can often land a business in the soup.
The high incidence of disengaged employees, apathy, disruption,
conflict, absenteeism, and low-productivity is not merely an indictment on the
leadership in business, but is also indicative of a failure of followership
among employees.
More leaders in the rank and file provide the only real
remedy.
This is not just possible, but also entirely practical. The reality is that the sound judgment and emotional
maturity required for leadership can only be developed in the ranks, and it is
only people who show the commitment and character to be effective followers who
will be able to make the step up to lead when the need arises.
All human beings have the potential to lead because all have
the ability to develop the practical wisdom, courage, self-control, and sense
of justice that are the basic requirements for leadership. Leaders are made, not born.
However, upbringing and education inevitably result in the
potential being more developed in some people than others by the time they are
ready to enter the workforce. Moreover,
in this day and age, negative cultural influences in social life as well as
previous working environments are quite likely to have frustrated, perverted,
or even suppressed the leadership potential of many of the people seeking
employment. It usually takes
long-suffering leadership to turn such people around so that their leadership
potential can be revived and redirected.
In order to develop leaders, the first step is to foster a
commitment to the common good and the self-leadership that entails. Ask any soldier – before anyone is promoted,
they need to have demonstrated their ability to follow. You can’t give orders until you can take
orders.
Personal integrity is the surest indicator of well-developed
leadership potential, and is precisely the quality you should look for in as
many of the people you employ as possible.
They will not only help you build a much more effective and dynamic
team, but also make succession planning a breeze.
Consider the qualities that make leaders the best followers:
- · They have integrity and stand by the corporate vision – as long as it has integrity
- · They take their personal responsibilities seriously, and need less supervision
- · They are committed to the team, always supporting others, and encouraging them
- · They listen, and make sure everyone knows what’s going on
- · They are honest and will speak their mind, even if it’s not what people want to hear
- · They are creative, open to ideas, and show the initiative that makes a business hum
- · When the going gets tough, they’re at their best, bringing out the best in others
- · They exude confidence and counter the cynicism that poisons so many workplaces
- · They know that the essence of leadership is service, seeking to make things better
- · The way they conduct themselves inspires others to contribute in the same way
Developing a culture of leadership in your business
recognizes the inescapable fact that whenever you employ a person, you are
employing someone with potential. If the
potential is nurtured, your team and your business will benefit richly; if the
potential is stifled or ignored, you can be sure it will create problems in
some form or other.
Leaders are self-motivated, patient, and prepared to
persevere in the face of difficulties and disappointments. Those qualities aren’t given – they have to
be learned in the hurly-burly of life, and in a society where
self-gratification is the prime value, the great majority of people in business
simply don’t have them. The more people with
those qualities that you can get on your team, the more chance you will have of
creating a culture of leadership.
The old warning about the dangers of having too many chiefs
and not enough Indians has actually got the tomahawk by the wrong end. A culture of leadership, where the leadership
potential of all is nurtured, means you always have people making decisions for
the good of the team and the business rather than for their own selfish
interests. And that is the best
preparation they can have for the time when they are called to take up the
responsibilities of an official leadership position.
