“Leaders are by definition change-makers. When you are called to lead, you are called to advance, move forward and improve the situation.” Lead, -J.M. Bowman
Leaders are change-makers regardless of position or company. The influence a strong and equipped leader brings is a gift to the entire team. However, all too often higher-level leaders promote individuals based solely on performance. Team members are placed in positions to lead yet have not been offered previous leadership training.
Ironically, the most precious characteristics of a strong leader are sorely lacking in newly promoted leaders. There is positional elevation, yet those employees have received little to no mentoring, training, or leadership coaching. Perhaps some organizations haven’t clearly defined what leadership characteristics are most important to them. People are promoted because of performance in a non-leadership role. High performance = higher position.
Is that best? What if that age-old practice is wrong? What if companies and organizations ran it differently? What if every employee in the company received some level of coaching from Day One? “Hello, welcome to the job. Here’s your badge, here’s your login, and here’s the link to sign up for leadership training.” Ready, set, lead.
Can you imagine the impact this would have on company culture? Everyone from the administrative assistant to the CEO would be empowered to lead their space with excellence. It’s fair to expect this practice would alleviate burdens across the board. If every team member felt empowered to lead, inevitably the level of ownership would grow. The message of this approach would be that each individual has value, has great potential, and is called to the next level of extraordinary.
If an entire company was comprised of change-makers, there would be efficiency and growth. When individuals are promoted because of stellar performance, they would be ready to lead. Each team member would have received leadership training from Day One; they are ready to lead when that promotion happens. What would it look like to incorporate this in your team? How could you create additional training and mentorship opportunities prior to promotions?
Ready, set, lead.
