On July 28, 2000, I went from Staff Sgt Mark Noon, USAF to 2nd Lt Mark Noon, in an official promotion ceremony. I was promoted because I was a good laboratory scientist, and I had met certain qualifications. This wasn’t necessarily the wrong way of identifying a new leader, but was it the best way?
What preparation or training had I received that qualified me for promotion to a leadership position? After that ceremony, I was supposed to be ready to lead, to engage, to do something! But what on earth was I supposed to do?
This very question is the reason why I have dedicated the past 20+ years to learning about and teaching leader development. Too often people are put into a position to fail by not preparing them as best we can for leadership. The inaccurate assumption that leadership skills are either innate or easily learned is why early development is so vital.
According to a 2011 major survey, more than a quarter of the surveyed managers said they were not ready to become a leader when they started managing others, and 58% said they didn’t receive any leadership training. Another survey indicated that more than 80% of new leaders were not prepared to lead when they first got the job.
Is leader development essential? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
Several years ago, my oldest daughter began playing volleyball, followed shortly thereafter by my younger daughter. Since that time, I’ve grown to love the game. I learned the sport and began to analyze it. As I did, I found so many correlations to business/non-profit work, management and leadership, and even to parenting. Each player has a unique function, position, and responsibility.
If everyone in the organization does what they’re supposed to do, then every team player, every member makes that organization successful. If each girl performs well on the court, and SET UP the right situation, the team wins. And……Great Leadership makes it all function well.
In my own leadership expedition, I began to look at whether I was creating the right setting, putting people where they were best suited, creating other leaders, & communicating the right information.
Great leadership makes that all function well.
The leader is the catalyst to the team. It takes great courage to hear good information, act on it, and make the change, make the improvement. How are your leadership skills? Do you have the necessary skills to lead well? What are you doing to develop yourself, and other leaders? If you are not happy with any of your answers to those questions, and want to talk more about a customized solution, click on the link below……….or give us a call today….