Developing people is a critical task for all leaders, but it is often overlooked or placed on the back burner. This often happens because of the hectic pace of life and the burden of daily workloads. While it’s understandably a challenge, it can’t be acceptable if you want to build a championship-caliber team.
The best teams and organizations in the world take people development very seriously. They understand that it’s an ongoing process and someone must keep this as a priority at all times.
Many leaders also find themselves to be unsure about how to develop their team members. This uncertainty leads to inactivity. This inactivity leads to frustrated, underperforming teams.
In order to improve the people development aspect of your business, take the following three steps which can make a tremendous immediate impact:
1 – See Potential in Yourself and Others
In order to develop yourself and your followers, you must first see the potential worth investing in. When you look in the mirror, what strengths do you see that are worth developing? When you look around your organization, what strengths do you see in your people that should be cultivated? Awareness is the first step for deciding on who or what to invest in. If you don’t look for potential, you won’t see it. However, when you make it a priority, you’ll begin to develop skills and abilities that can help individuals and the team be more successful.
2 – Commit to People as Your Greatest Asset
Organizations are inanimate objects by themselves. It’s the people that make them come alive and accomplish anything. However, frustrated leaders often look at people as a nuisance or liability. When you shift your thinking to view your people as your greatest asset, you begin to treat them differently and better. You’ll want them to become the best they can be so they can help the organization become the best it can be.
3 – Invest Resources Daily for Future Growth
Too many leaders look at personnel development as an expense rather than an investment. However, this mindset is highly detrimental to the health of any organization. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the CEO and CFO talking to each other about developing their people:
CFO: “What if we invest in training our people and they leave us?”
CEO: “What if we don’t and they stay?”
This humorous illustration is painfully true. Will team members leave? Of course. Very few people stay in one company for decades as previous generations once did. However, when you develop your people, you will maximize their skills for the current season of the organization, which will help build a solid foundation for future seasons. Investing in training, coaching, and equipment to help your people develop is extremely important and wise. It also expresses greater value, which often leads to people staying longer than expected.
Imagine having a team of highly engaged and highly skilled employees working hard daily.
Imagine having the confidence to hand off key projects to your followers trusting that they will get the job done with excellence and efficiency.
Imagine sleeping well at night because you know the future of your team or organization is in good hands with well-developed people.
This can be your reality when you commit to developing your people so they can reach their potential and accomplish what matters most for the team to be successful.
In my new book, The Magnetic Leader: 18 Essential Actions of Leaders People Love to Follow, I go much deeper into Essential Action #12 – Develops People. CLICK HERE to learn more and to purchase your copy today!
Until next time…make today GREAT!
