Creating Leaders Instead of Followers

This quarter’s Business Discussion Group is focused on developing the people who work for you.

In the book, Developing the Leaders Around You, the author, John C. Maxwell, states “the Company’s growth potential is directly related to the potential of the people”! What do you think?

You might be thinking “isn’t that the ‘Leader's job”? Isn’t the growth potential of the business up to me as the leader?  I was always told that to obtain success you need to develop a vision, set clear goals, effectively communicate the goals, align the work and you will get the desired results!  Besides, if I’m a good leader my employees will “follow”, right?

Maxwell challenges us to think of leadership differently – instead of being “leader-centric” – focusing on ourselves – he recommends creating a following of “leaders” instead of “followers”.

Why, what’s the difference? The author states that “followers” tell us what we want to hear while “leaders” tell us what we need to hear! Wow, that could make a big difference in our business.

What are the advantages of developing the people around you into being leaders?

• It Improves the customer experience -> customers can recognize “followers” over “leaders”

• It raises the productivity of the business -> it takes the leadership of people to change productivity levels that will lead to business improvements.

• It lightens the workload of the leader -> You can’t do it alone, you need effective leaders to meet the commitments of the business
• It makes good business sense if you want to grow!

So, what do you think? Please join in the discussion by attending out next Business Discussion Group on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 7:30 am at the IL Small Business Development Center at Harper College.

See you on the 29th!

Sincerely,
Sue Smedinghoff