Letting others lead!

Late last week, I tweeted the following quote:

Good leaders lead well. Great leaders allow others to lead well!

While the above statement seems to be fairly simple, the impact is essential, both from an organizational perspective and for succession planning. I’m amazed at how many times I meet good leaders who somehow fear allowing others to lead fully. Maybe it is a security issue or a lack of confidence but great leaders (1) Hire better than themselves and then (2) Get the hell out of the way!

In the perfect world, the leader has the ability to hire her own people and build the team from the ground up. If you trust you own judgment, you typically hire well and then you just need to let go, without the proverbial abdicating the throne! Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t stay connected or in the know but rather it means oversight, not micro-management.

Sometimes the “letting go” is a process since you want to ensure that the person you’ve hired is successful. Sometimes it takes more mentoring or coaching but the transition needs to occur or (1) You’re not that great of a leader, (2) You didn’t hire well, or (3) You didn’t put enough time or energy into the transition.

Most leaders like to default when the transition doesn’t occur to the notion that they didn’t hire well or didn’t provide enough time or support. It is far more humbling for leaders to consider the possibility that they’re not quite as great as their own mind believes. You might get the hint here that great leaders also have an intense understanding of their own abilities because they constantly engage in regular honest self /peer reflection.

In this complex world we live in, we need more great leaders and less blind and narrow minded followers! We need to develop leaders who can lead on and take us beyond where we would have been able to go on a solo mission. It is not rocket science but it is not common sense either. It requires confidence in oneself and a vulnerability that is clear and evident!

If you are a leader, whether new or well established, make sure you are creating opportunities for those around you to take on challenges so they can develop their own capacity. Remember, “great leaders allow others to lead well!”