Leadership development: Planting the right seeds

When Matt got promoted to management, I was surprised.

I’ve known Matt for most of his life. I knew that he started taking things apart and putting them back together about the time he learned to walk. So I wasn’t surprised when he got an engineering degree and began working in his field. He seemed happy. Then he got “promoted.”

I put the word in quotes because it wasn’t a step up for Matt in any way except pay and prestige. He hated the work. Every day was a struggle just to do a decent job. His company had turned a productive and happy individual contributor into an unhappy manager who had to work his tail off just to do an acceptable job.

The work of a positional leader

Matt was a positional leader. He was responsible for the performance of a group. That’s a specific kind of work and not everyone has the aptitude for it.

Putting Matt in a manager’s job was like planting carrots and expecting to reap corn. That’s not very bright and it’s not likely to be successful. It might be why so many people don’t want to become managers.

Leadership, no thank you

CareerBuilder recently released results of their survey of over three thousand workers. Here’s one thing they found.

“Most American workers are not aiming for the corner office, according to a new CareerBuilder survey. Approximately one third (34 percent) of workers aspire to leadership positions, with only 7 percent aiming for senior or C-level management.”

That’s a good thing

I like the fact that people are looking at the job and their own goals and declining the opportunity to become a manager. We don’t need more ineffective or downright bad managers. We don’t need more people coming to work every day dreading the work they have to do.

Leadership development starts with choosing the people to develop

If you’re looking for great leaders, don’t start by picking people who want the job for the money or the prestige. Pick people who like helping others succeed, are willing to talk to others about performance, and willing to make decisions. Then, develop the heck out of them.

Wally Bock

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