By Lorraine Grubbs
Many people have asked, “Are leaders made or are they born”? The answer,
in my opinion, is both. Some people possess a natural, intuitive talent for
leadership and then there are those who don’t. The good news is that those
who don’t can be taught, as long as they have a desire to learn. It goes back to
attitude…you can train skill, it’s much more difficult to change an attitude. So,
before you invest in a leader, determine that they have demonstrated a good
attitude so you don’t end up wasting your efforts. If you think that by giving them
tools they will improve their attitude, you will more often than not be wrong. Save
these leadership opportunities for those who have demonstrated the potential
through a good attitude.
This article is the third in a series of steps designed to give small businesses the
roadmap for developing effective leaders.
In the first two articles of this series, we discussed starting with the 360-degree
review and, with the results of that assessment, putting together a development
plan. Now that you have a plan in place, where do you find the resources to help
your leaders grow in the areas they need to?
In the many years I have been in leadership development I have collected quite
a few resources. Among those are a few “gems” that I would like to share.
Not only are they low cost, but also I have found them to be highly effective in
developing leaders. Following are my recommendations:
White papers: The Harvard Business Review is my number one resource for
leadership articles and white papers. They are well written, accessible on the
Internet, and contain hundreds of topics that a leader faces throughout their
career, and, while you can subscribe to the HBR, you can often find many of their
articles and white papers online for free. From the basics to the more complex
issues, you can find just about any topic your leader needs to learn. You can
also Google any leadership topic and find other white papers and articles
relevant to just about any leadership topic.
Blogs are also an excellent source of leadership learning. Respected and well known
leaders such as Jack Welch, Tony Robbins, and Stephen Covey write
some of my favorite blogs. Again, Google your favorite leaders and find out if
they have a blog, and then subscribe. You’ll get great information from these
wise gurus.
Books: Let the experts tell you what’s effective. One of the best sites I have
found for almost any type of leadership development is Cornerstone Leadership
based out of Dallas, Texas. They have hundreds of books designed in the
quick-read format for the busy leader. From mentoring to time management to
customer service…you’ll find a myriad of topics and one-stop shopping. You will
also find many book recommendations in the blogs or websites of your favorite
business leaders.
Mentoring: One of the most powerful tools you can use is you, the leader of
your company. I know several CEOs who take a couple of hours a week to
mentor their “high potentials”. Yes, it takes time, but they all have said, without
exception, that it is worth it and, not surprisingly, they get as much out of
mentoring their leaders as the mentees do.
Webinars: There are so many out there that it’s difficult to know which ones to
sign up for. I’ve taken some that were a waste of my time (and the good part
is you can opt out during the webinar), but I’ve also taken some that taught me
nuggets of valuable information. My advice on webinars is if it’s a topic you need
to learn about, and it’s not a high cost, take it. The worst thing that will happen is
that you might learn one thing out of the hour of information.
Classes: Brick and mortar is one of the most time-consuming, but can be
one of the most valuable learning experiences you can give your leaders.
Some valuable ones I have treasured over the years include: Franklin Time
Management, Situational Leadership, Myers Briggs Personality Assessment,
DISC, and Loyaltize Your Employees. Any of these classes can be found
through the Internet, and all are designed to give your leaders extremely relevant
tools.
In next month’s article, I will share some real life examples from my leadership
coaching practice.
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Lorraine Grubbs is the president of Lessons in Loyalty. You can contact Lorraine
at 281-813-0305 or by email at [email protected]
