Are you truly confident that you have some leaders from within your business?
While some company owners are quick to answer yes to such a question, others no doubt have to stop and think about it.
If you feel like you are having trouble finding leaders inside your company, do you plan to do anything about that moving forward?
If not, this does not mean your business is doomed for failure anytime soon.
What it does mean, however, is that you may want to take a little time to see if you not only do have some leadership talent within your ranks, but also how best to utilize that talent to motivate others inside your business.
Using Outside Examples to Inspire
Even though there are different ways with which to go about finding and bringing out the leaders in your company, it sometimes just comes down to simple things.
For example, you may have some budding leaders within your ranks, but for one reason or another, they are timid about putting those skills to use. If that’s the case, how do you (and should you) bring out those skills?
Always keep in mind that you should never force an employee into doing something they’re not comfortable with or becoming someone they truly are not meant to be. That said it is perfectly fine (sometimes quite necessary) to ask them to take on more authoritative roles if need be.
If you feel like you aren’t quite sure how to go about getting the most out of them, sometimes you might want to think about turning to others to provide sound examples.
For instance, having your employees view and listen to some individuals that have been proven to demonstrate leadership skills is a good start.
Public speakers such as Ron Fournier can provide their years of experience in the political world, transferring that knowledge over into the business community, all the while providing your team with valuable leadership tips.
When you stop and think about it for a moment, the political and business worlds have more in common than you may think.
For one, political leaders have to do all they can to amass support from their constituents, many of whom are either business leaders or employees of the former. While finding the true leaders from within your organization is not simply deciding by a vote which individual is the most popular and/or poised to do the job, it does mean identifying those employees willing to take on a more important role.
If you are trying to find leadership from within your ranks, remember to look at:
- Motivation – First and foremost, which employees within your company seem most motivated to be leaders? This is not always something which is easy to tell, so it will likely take some doing on your part to identify such individuals. Search for those workers who come to their jobs each and every day looking to better than the day prior;
- Helping co-workers – You know how some employees all but despise the idea of helping co-workers. To them, they have enough on their daily plates, so why ask them to assist others? As it turns out, those workers who are true team players within the office could be tomorrow’s leaders. Such individuals don’t think twice about lifting a finger to help their co-workers. In turn, those are the kinds of employees who will typically also go that extra mile for your customers;
- Asks questions – Finally, which of your employees is always trying to learn more? While some workers may seem a little over the top when it comes to asking questions, you want those employees who are willing to roll their sleeves up and essentially get dirty. Such workers usually are interested in all facets of how the company works, with an eye on staying and growing with the business. These are typically the people who will stick around with you for a longer period of time than those who just come in and do their jobs, showing little or no effort to learn more about how things work (that is not true in all cases, so never punish or look down on those who are quiet and yet do a great job).
If finding leadership from within your business has been a challenge at times, consider taking a look outside to see how others can assist in motivating your team.
About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and leadership topics on the web.
