The Wisdom of Investing in Your People

At a leadership conference I attended years ago, the keynote speaker was a very successful sales and marketing expert.  He told us the story of how he lost some really good sales people, because he spent the majority of his time coaching underperformers.

He shared with us that he spent 80% of his time and attention managing underperforming sales people.  After spending considerable resources on coaching, training, and workshops, the ROI was the same poor results.  Meanwhile his high performing sales people felt underappreciated and over burdened with having to take up the slack.

The truth of the matter was he knew he could count on his high performing sales team to keep performing at a high level, so he did not spend much time with them.   The result was several of his top sales people left the organization.   The reason?  Feeling underappreciated and letting underperforming team members get by with lackluster results.

As the dynamics of his team changed, he had to change how he led his team.  He realized that he needed to nurture, acknowledge, coach and listen to his top performers.
The underperformers were given a certain timeframe to improve their performance, and if they did not, they would be separated from the company.

After a time of realigning his team, the overall results took a dramatic upswing.  The entire team was focused and energized.
 
While reflecting on the actions he took to turn the team around he distilled them down to the following key actions:

• Hire good people.  No short cuts, hire smart and slow.
• Set the right expectations, they need to know what to do each day they come to work.
• Challenge and coach every team members to be better.
• Separate from the company individuals who do not accept coaching and continue to underperform.

The wise and effective leader invests consistently in their people to help them to grow, develop and achieve their goals.  While the underperformers will either “get it” or self-select out of the company.

Making wise decisions regarding your staff is essential not only to employee engagement, but to the profitability of the company.

Unsung Hero

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.  ~Author Unknown

While many in our culture call our athletes, actors and singers heroes, there are real heroes making a difference in the lives of the next generation of leaders.  One such hero is a teacher who lovingly labors in the Oakland school system.  Her name is Ms. Dixon.  Although she stands at about 5’5” inches tall, she is a giant in the lives of many of her  students.  She is energetic, soulful and speaks with confidence and authority.

Recently, before speaking to a group of her students, I told her she was my hero.  (This caught her off guard, probably because many teachers are not treated or thought of as heroes.)  She possesses a commitment to her students that drives her to help each and every one of them realize their potential.

Hundreds of students have come through her classroom and many have gone on to higher education.  Sure, there are those who have not taken advantage of her instruction and her compassion and have gotten lost in life.  However, this does not deter her or quench her spirit!

She continues to lead and positively impact the lives of her students.  She shows them that there is hope for a better life if you are disciplined and determined.

This year she received one of the greatest gifts a teacher can receive; one of her students is now attending a prestigious California university.  Some might say that is no big deal, but if you knew the hurdles and barriers that the students have to overcome, you would realize that it is a big deal and a significant accomplishment.  This is especially true since the person is a young inner city male who is now taking advantage of what this great country has to offer, an education.

I want to acknowledge Ms. Dixon’s commitment to service as a teacher, mentor and leader in her school and in the community.  She is an inspiration to me and to many others that have come to know and respect all that she does for our young people.

She is an Unsung Hero!

Leading from behind

“Leaders set the course and let others steer the ship.” Unknown

For now and into the coming decade or so, there are those who believe that the most effective leaders will lead from behind, not from the front.   In his autobiography, Nelson Mandela equated a great leader with a shepherd: "He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind."

Everyone is familiar with the idea of leading from in front, but there is not enough attention given to leading from behind.  I believe successful organizations will focus on the development of each employee as a leader.

The organization’s leadership will of course set the vision and strategy of the company, but it will be the employees who make it happen. The challenge for leaders will be insuring that they have the right people in the right jobs, training them and giving them the latitude to make informed decisions based on a set of established parameters.  The bottom line is that leaders will have to find people who can execute on the vision and ideas of the organization.  This does not mean they will not be able to go off script when unique circumstances exist, but they will have been coached and prepared to accept the responsibility to make sound decisions.  Leading from behind results in a culture where innovation and creativity are nourished and rewarded which will set the successful organizations apart from all others.

As a leader, you have to be willing to bring up the rear if you want your team to be the best they can be and produce the results you are looking for. 

In the military, the general is rarely on the front lines in the heat of battle, he is often-times in a position where he has the best view of the battlefield.  He knows that each soldier has been carefully selected and trained for the task he has been assigned.  As a result, the general is confident in the soldier’s ability to carry out the mission.

Developing your team and coaching them for success will also result in a stronger bench where your next leaders will emerge.  So, get out of the way and watch them succeed, sometimes the view is better when leading from behind.