A recent research indicate that 10%
to 15% of the most innovative leaders in the world don’t bother to
encourage the people around them to innovate. They often believe their
ideas are so much better than their colleagues’ that they see little
value in building talent around them. Many also lack the patience
required to give others the chance to develop and deliver their ideas,
so they do the work alone.
I believe one of the strong focus of
leadership ought to be enabling and empowering people to think and
act towards achieving shared vision. It is not about how effective a leader is individually but how effective collectively - bring out the best in one's self and in others to achieve common goals. This emphasizes the need to be
confident in oneself as leader and the need to have confidence in others. A self-confident leader will have no problem having confident people around them, when a leader has confidence in the people even when people are not able to mach to the leader's expectation will give them time and support required to develop and deliver greater results.
My
suggestion to leaders is to adopt a consultative and collaborative
approach in working with and working through people. Taking a directive approach or choosing to work along instead of working through people may save time and get desired results on short term, however, it will not serve the long term interest of developing people and building a strong organization that will stand the test of time. Collaborate and consult with people, truly engage in dialogue, learn, teach, engage and
build a foundation for long-term success.
