The sign of a true leader is one who is constantly creating new leaders. These type of leaders inspire, motivate, educate, support and mentor others into positions of leadership. They cultivate the skills of others and strengthen their weaknesses.
In Boy Scouts, one of the main premises of the Eagle Scout project, and something you will be grilled on in you Eagle Board of Review, is the question: could your project have happened without you? In order to have a truly successful project, it must be so well planned out AND you must have designated, informed, trained other participants that a) you as the project leader do not actually work on project day and b) if you cannot show up for any reason, the project proceeds as planned.
This so goes against our nature of needing to be needed. We tend to feel if our business or department can survive without us, we have no value. We MUST adjust this way of thinking! If business as usual can proceed without you, then to your credit you have hired some very capable employees and you have trained them so well they know how to do their job. This then frees you up to focus on the big picture, more time for strategic planning and business growth.
Do you think you must be involved in every little aspect of your department? Do you require frequent updates and details on every project? Now we get into micromanaging, stay tuned…
Kim Jimenez has been a regular contributor to the MDS website and MDS blog for the past 15 years. Kim holds a supervisory position in a Fortune 100 company and has extensive experience with a multitude of employee, training and leadership issues. She is currently obtaining her degree in Human Resource Management at Southern New Hampshire University.