Page 249 - The extraordinary leader

226 • The Extraordinary Leader

17. Allocate specific time to people development
A powerful tool in your own development process is to become involved in
the development of people who report to you, or anyone who would benefit
from your tutelage. We have noted earlier that one of the keys of good lead-
ership is the ability to obtain good results. Along with that, however, leaders
also need to build the capacity within the organization to continually improve
its performance and thus be able to produce long-term, sustained results.
The “law of the harvest” talks about reaping what we sow. For the organiza-
tion to constantly reap high productivity and innovation from its people, there
has to be “sowing.” That means taking the time, putting forth the effort, and
possibly spending the money required to get front-line associates trained up.
Some leaders view people development as a frill—extraneous to their real
work. Amidst the punishing workload of today’s business climate, finding time
for people development seems impossible to them. However, taking the time
to develop people is an important behavior of a leader, not only for what it
does for the recipient, but equally for the impact it has on the leader. Devel-
oping others moves you from being an independent professional person, con-
cerned only with yourself, to the role of the true leader who creates
organizational capacity and builds people.

18. Weld your team together
Great organizations nearly always have strong teams at the top, composed of
people who genuinely like each other and who want their colleagues to suc-
ceed. A strong, cohesive team becomes a powerful development tool aiding
leaders to constantly improve. Many organizations engage in team-building
activities, ostensibly to improve the working relationships of the people on the
team, and also to enable the group to be even more productive. What is often
missed is the fact that a good team-building exercise is one of the most pow-
erful learning experiences for the leader. First, the team has fresh, first-hand
data about the leader’s behavior and results. They are in the best position to
provide useful feedback to the leader regarding strengths and any areas of
improvement. Thus, a good team-building session is one of the most power-
ful and positive development activities that a leader can undertake.
19. Build personal dashboards to monitor leadership effectiveness
n
Good overall measures of leadership do not usually exist in most organiza-
tions. How do you know if you are performing well? What objective meas-
ures exist that would confirm or deny that? If such measures do not exist now,
then an excellent developmental activity is for you to take the initiative and