I was having a conversation recently based around leadership and the various facets of our demanding role as leaders and how much of this should be dedicated if any to developing and line managing other leaders/staff. When I started to think about this more questions than answers started to appear.
As leaders do we forget that people are our most valuable resource? Is it through investing in and developing people that we achieve the successful outcomes that we are driven towards everyday?
The busyness of a day or a term can often prevent leaders from intentionally developing the people or leaders they line manage? What distracts you from investing in and developing your people?
What happens if leaders aren’t good at developing or line managing people? Should leaders just “get on with it” and just do what they are good at even if this isn’t developing leaders? Do we just leave this to the leaders that are good at it?
How do we as leaders move ahead with purpose to get the best from our teams?
Can we actually lead change in our roles if we don’t invest in developing leaders or staff we line manage? Can you be a good leader if you don’t spend time developing your people/leaders?
The best leaders (line managers) develop people and develop other leaders.
They create clear expectations and celebrate achievement
They frequently provide feedback
They are able to articulate and develop a clear and shared vision
As leaders in a team we are all very different and with good reason. If a team was full of goal hungry forwards we may not have much team success on the field. We all have a role to play and we all have our own approach as leaders but an intentional approach towards investing in developing our leaders is needed by all. Developing leaders and staff that we line manage is such a positive and substantial investment in what we work to achieve everyday, whether it be small steps or large goals. It also doesn’t just happen accidentally and is one of the hardest skills to develop.
Caroline Fishpool 