Lesson 3: Are You A People Developer?
Are you a People Developer? How do you know?
Good leaders develop their people and tend to get the most out of them. They get that discretionary effort from team members that is so elusive, often getting close to 100% of effort and ability. We call them “People Developers.” The inability to get the best from your team members has less to do with them and more to do with the fact that they never had a great leader work with them and develop them.
Those leaders that are not people developers tend to get, well, what they get: a mixed bunch. Some are go-getters, some wait around to be told what to do—an aggregate team that works to 60 or 70% of their ability, if you are lucky.
Reflect for a second; do you get the most out of your people? 100%, 90%, or 50%? Do people do their best for you? Or do subordinate leaders and employees take virtual time off when you are not around? Do people want to work for you because you’ll challenge them and make them better? If good people are scrambling to volunteer to work for you, then you have probably earned a reputation as a people developer. On the other hand, if good people are wishing to leave or are voting with their feet and jumping ship, then chances are, you might not be developing people and challenging them as much as you could.
Reflect on the following statements, how do you size up?
To be clear, not everyone can be coached and developed to be peak performers. Some team members are cast in the wrong role or need to be on a different team to hit their stride. However, everyone deserves a great leader, great leaders are People Developers first, and great leaders always try to build up team members. What type of People Developer are you? What would your team members say?
If you would like to engage in a 30-minute (no fee) session to learn more about how to develop your employees, please contact Excelerated Leadership Partners today: robin@elpadvantage.com.