Some years ago when I was a Branch Manager, I sat at one of our monthly performance review meetings and it suddenly dawned on me that seated right there in that room were four other Branch Managers who had passed through me.
In other words, they were Relationship Officers whom I supervised but had now become Branch Managers. I felt so much joy that day.
The greatest job of a leader is to produce other leaders. There is no greater satisfaction than replicating yourself. Leaders should produce leaders and not just followers. We must consciously work on developing leadership capacity in the team or people we lead. This is my life focus now — raising others.
The greatest job of a leader is to produce other leaders. There is no greater satisfaction than replicating yourself. Share on XHow can we do this?
1. Invest in people
I spend time mentoring and coaching. Give personal attention to people in your team. Let them see how you do certain things and explain how to do it also. Don’t just relish being a local champion. When you invest in others, you increase your ability to go global — through the people you have raised. You multiply the scope of your influence that way. You help yourself by helping others.
2. Delegate
Many leaders are afraid to delegate. Delegation is one thing we need to do more. Give your teammates more responsibility. Let them handle more assignments. Sometimes, you need to sit back and let them do the job.
Yes, they will fail in a few but how can they learn if they don’t handle those tasks? Your job is to inspect what you expect. Give them clear guidelines and watch from a distance. Allow them to make their mistakes. Correct them. Rinse and repeat. That’s how they will grow.
3. Let your people know you believe in them
One of the greatest things a leader can do is to be a cheerleader. When your people know you believe in them, you not only give them wings to fly, they will also do anything for you. Offer them words of encouragement. Be enthusiastic about their progress. Amplify their strengths. Whatever you amplify will be exemplified.
4. Give them credit
Be very generous with praise. Give them credit as much as possible. Don’t take all the glory or credit for the accomplishment of your team. Let people understand their contribution to your success as the leader.
Praise is a confidence booster. It pushes them to do more.
We need more leaders.