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Many within (and outside of!) the Delta Companies, Inc., organization will know Wally from his many training sessions at Colas University, various Colas meetings, and even our own Delta Days training events. As a former U.S. Marine Officer, Wally led a tank battalion before becoming a pilot of AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters. Today, he serves as President of FireStarter Speaking and Consulting. To learn more about Wally, visit his website at www.firestarterspeaking.com.
Our exploration of "NO YELLING: The 9 Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You Must Know to Win in Business", continues with the sixth secret: Make New Leaders which includes: Cultural, Personal, and Accountable.
"All commanders should consider the professional development of their subordinates a principal responsibility of command. Commanders should foster a personal teacher-student relationship with their subordinates. Commanders should see the development of their subordinates as a direct reflection on themselves." - Warfighting
This recognition of the ongoing success of the company, or work group, is part of Adamchik's Third Law of Leadership: IT IS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION. Personal glory and individual success are noteworthy, but organizational achievement is the result of the work of many people over time.
Organizations succeed because of effective execution by those being led. They succeed because all members of the organization recognize the contribution they make to the greater good. These members contribute as a result of good leadership.
The only possible way to execute at a high level is through a well-led workforce that exercises creativity and initiative. In the face of growth and change, tenured employees may yearn for the "good ole days". New workers may not know your system. Leadership is required at all levels.
Cultural
Leader development is cultural. Those leading in the organization must believe that it has a worthwhile mission - that it will endure. A natural extension of this philosophy is that the people in the organization realize that developing the next generation of leaders is integral to future success. There must be an expectation of developing future leaders.
"The key to unleashing the potential of others in large part rests on creating the right climate in the organization. People who are uninspired by the nature of their work, lack confidence in their skills, are uncertain about their responsibilities, are concerned with being criticized for mistakes, and who rarely get feedback on performance, are unlikely to surprise you with high performance or innovation." - John Woodmansee, Author.
Harvard professor, John Kotter, contends that "successful corporations don't wait for leaders to come along. They actively seek out people with leadership potential and expose them to career experiences designed to develop that potential".
Reading and discussion can be highly effective tools in leader development.
Personal
Development of subordinates may or may not be part of a given job description. However, whether it is written or not, make no mistake - the development of subordinates is a primary job responsibility of all positions. This emphasis on employee development is one of the key differentiators for the leader of the 21st century. "That's not in my job description" is an oft-repeated, albeit weak, excuse for failing to "grow" new leadership. Perhaps coaching and mentoring are better suited to describe the process. A leader may coach anyone at any time, and will, hopefully, develop a mentoring relationship over time. (Mentoring means one-on-one, face-to-face interaction with the intent of preparing people to step into positions of increased responsibility and impact.)
Real leaders are always developing people.
"Professionals take responsibility for developing themselves first and then those they work with." - Colleen Ryan, Captain USMC.
Job exchanges are often cited as an excellent way to develop someone.
Much of leader development is informal, one-on-one coaching. Any situation can be used as a discussion point if the leader chooses to have the conversation. Every hour of the day presents opportunities to coach. The leader may take time to explain a decision, helping employees understand the big picture. The leader may ask an employee to explain the thought process involved in making a certain decision and then coach the person through seeing other courses of action. This behavior has value with all employees, but it is mandatory if there are to be leaders to step up to the next level.
Some employees assert that they don't want to move up. They say they are content with where they are and don't want the hassle of leading. They may not be truthful when they are saying this. Often they are really saying they don't have the training or they don't have the confidence in themselves.
Much of the development of leaders involves helping them learn how to think about the bigger picture.
The goal is to have a bench full of people who can operate independently because the understand the issues.
Accountable
Accountability is part of leader development. This ability to deliver feedback and have people receive it in a positive fashion stems from two distinct places. First is the culture: as we discussed, does the culture support and reward leader development? Second is the leader: does the leader have the interpersonal skills to regularly deliver effective feedback?
The challenge for a leader in developing new leaders is to respond with a question, rather than an answer, when asked by subordinates what to do. Rather than offer your answer, offer the question, "What do you think?" - they usually have it figured out already anyway. The role of the leader is to help people develop that confidence in themselves, to allow people to make mistakes, to share lessons learned, and to move on.
"My starting point is the understanding that it is my job to help you solve your problem, not solve it for you." - Roger Brown, Captain USMC.
Commanders are expected to develop subordinates and the outcomes should be viewed as direct reflections on themselves.
If you are really serious about developing people, you will schedule time for this interaction and you will protect it jealously.
The best leaders recognize that when their people succeed and advance it reflects well on them.
Summary
The best organizations consist of people who are ready to step up to the next challenge. They have a pool of able candidates who have been exposed to higher-level challenges, either through targeted opportunities in a concerted leader development process or through reading, study, and discussion.
The standard is the standard; we never want to lower the standard. We want to coach, mentor, encourage, and help people reach the standard.
Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc
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