Finding productivity in potential...

One of the greatest marks of leadership is the ability to focus on others before yourself. When I teach seminars, or even are just doing a one-on-one session with a leader I give this quick anecdote: if you and I were at a baseball game I would probably naturally not be thinking about what you needed. Meaning, if I was hungry and was going to go grab something to eat I might ask you if you wanted me to grab you a dog and a Coke. But it is always following the desires that I have for myself first.

Leadership is taking yourself out of the equation for needing anything and focusing on what your people need. It’s being able to think about something as small as whether or not they are hungry. On a deeper level though, it is being able to help them for the sake of helping them. When I get called into a company to help executives make their employees more productive I always turn the question around on the leadership. I asked them what they are doing to invest into their people to develop their potential. And as you might imagine, they look back at me like I just hit them over the head with a 2 x 4.

Great leaders develop others so that those people will be more productive personally. Only then do they ask those people to come alongside them and use those skills to make the company better. And although a lot of people would see that as being counterproductive, when you focus on the people first, the company mission will automatically have a better chance at being accomplished. Why, because people are more apt to want to work for somebody who is looking out for them. And that is the respect factor.

My question is: are you more worried about what your people can do for you, or have you made the shift to be “others focused” and help your people for the simple fact that it is you as a leader that owes them, and not the other way around? My prayer is that you look at each of the people you lead and find out what they are passionate about, and how you might make their lives better. And I can promise you this, their respect for you will go up and they will be more productive. Which of course, remember, is only a byproduct of really caring for your people and wanting them to be better for themselves first.

Praying for you,

MO