Leadership development: The one thing that makes the difference

What do you think of when you read the following from Mary Jo Asmus’ post titled “How to become an extraordinary leader?”

“I’m fortunate that I get to work with extraordinary leaders. Most of them have been working on bec33oming the best for years. These leaders are of solid character and beyond the norm. Many of them are on the fast track to moving into positions of more responsibility in their organizations.”

You probably thought of extraordinary leaders that you know. I thought of Barry.

Leadership development needs more than potential

Barry was like the people Mary Jo describes in some ways. He had tons of potential. Alas, Barry agreed with Linus from the Peanuts comic strip who said “There is no heavier burden than a great potential.”

Barry did not want to be a leader. He did not want what he called the “hassles” of being responsible for the performance of a group and getting judged based on their performance. Barry did not want to become any kind of leader, let alone an extraordinary one.

Barry was a low commitment leader. The people Mary Jo describes are high commitment leaders. They’re the ones you want to invest in.3

Leadership development for high commitments

High commitment leaders are passionate about their leadership development. They want to get better and find new challenges to meet.

High commitment leaders will challenge you to challenge them. They will lobby for developmental assignments, read a ton, and take extra courses. They’re committed to leadership and committed to getting better.

One of the arts of leadership development is identifying the leaders with potential and commitment. That’s hard, but it’s way more productive than trying to convince someone like Barry that leadership development is for them.

Wally Bock

Wally Bock is a coach, a writer and President of Three Star Leadership.