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There are many great leaders who lead things
from small businesses to large countries.
Each of those leaders had to start
somewhere. Leadership starts at different
stages for different people; some start
learning as a small child while others may
not start until adulthood. But regardless of
when they start, its how they get there and
where they finish that matters.
Leaders are ultimately responsible for developing the
leaders of tomorrow. Leaders cannot be too
consumed with themselves; they should be
consumed with the organization and the
subordinates. The leaders will guide their
organization through today, but the
subordinates will guide them though
tomorrow, and if leaders don’t properly
train their subordinates, it will ultimately
lead to demise.
Just because people are in leadership positions doesn’t
make them leaders. People are often placed
into leadership positions well before they
are ready to lead. But regardless, people
will still look to them as their leader and
expect them to lead them in the right
direction. Take Eli Manning of the New York
Giants for instance, who entered the NFL in
2004, but didn’t become a leader until 2007.
He was placed in the key leadership position
for the football team well before he was
ready. The problem in his situation is that
he didn’t have a chance to develop before he
started to lead. His development started
with “on the job training.” He spent the
first 3 years of his career learning,
fighting adversity, and trying to find
himself, all while he was being further
developed as a leader and learning how to
lead. Furthermore, he lost some of his
supporting cast around him to help guide him
in the right direction. Instead of
supporting him, they grew impatient and
ridiculed him. With all the stress placed on
him, he never quit; he kept learning.
Finally in mid season of 2007, everything
that he learned came together. He stood up
and took his place as the leader of the New
York Giants
There are many ways leaders can develop subordinates’
leadership and show them how to lead. First
and foremost, leaders must lead by their own
example and give subordinates something to
follow, because subordinates often times
become a reflection of their leaders. They
try and emulate and follow in their leaders’
footsteps. If leaders fail to properly set a
good example for their subordinates, one of
two things can happen. Their subordinates
will become just like them and set a bad
example. Or, their subordinates will not
want to be like them. They just learned what
not to do as a leader, which could result in
them losing respect for their leaders.
To further develop subordinates, leaders must be
approachable. Subordinates should be
comfortable enough to be able to communicate
with their leaders about anything. This is a
major key to their success. This will help
build trust and confidence on both sides.
Once established, your relationship will
continue to grow professionally, which will
make them more receptive to their
development and eager to learn.
Leaders have to teach them what they need to do without
showing them how all the time. By just
teaching them, you are allowing them to
think and come up with their own ideas by
exercising their mind, which will result in
them utilizing initiative and judgment. Keep
in mind, everyone doesn’t process things the
same, so some subordinates will need more
guidance, and require more attention and
patience.
Leaders must be able to provide constructive criticism
and twist it up and end on a positive note.
When there are initiative and judgment
errors, it is still the leaders’ job and
responsibility to correct those errors and
guide them in the right direction. However,
leaders must not cause discouragement,
because subordinates may develop confidence
issues and no longer want to excel. Help
them understand that all leaders make
mistakes, but it’s what they learn and how
they recover from them that matters.
Subordinates must be held accountable for their
actions. Subordinates must also understand
that it goes far beyond that. They are not
just responsible for their actions but the
actions of those they lead. Take Brett Favre
for instance, the former quarterback for the
Green Bay Packers. When his team would lose,
it was him, the quarterback, who took the
responsibility because he was the leader of
the team. It was ultimately his
responsibility to teach, guide, mentor, and
motivate while leading the team to success.
After a loss, he would watch and analyze the
entire game, the players, and the plays to
come up with a solution to help prevent it
from happening again. He would always try
and find ethical ways to reach success. And
after 17 years in the NFL, he only got
better. That is passion. That is dedication.
That is the job of a leader!
These are just a few things leaders can do to develop
subordinate leaders. Leaders shouldn’t be
afraid to do further research to educate
themselves as well as their subordinates. No
matter how good of a leader someone maybe,
they should train their subordinates to be
better. If they developed them properly,
their legacy will live through them. And
regardless if they chose to develop them or
not, were they stand today is where their
subordinates will stand tomorrow.
About the Author
Darnell E. Patton is currently an active duty Marine. He has held many
management and leadership positions, to include an infantry platoon sergeant,
the legendary Marine Drill Instructor and Drill Instructor, Instructor. He has a
BS in Management, a BS in Finance, and his MBA with specialization in Human
Resources. He can be reached at
darnell.patton@usmc.mil
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