A sports team will only go so far as their bench allows them. Every team has its top starters; however, when those players need a rest, the players who come off the bench have to be strong enough to help the team continue to advance.
The same is true with any organization. When all of the layers of an organization are hitting goals, and individuals are developing as leaders, the bench will get deeper and deeper. Why is it so difficult to get the help that we need to grow our organization?
1. Leaders tend to be perfectionists.
We like things the way we like them. Often, this trait helped us grow our organization in the first place, but in time, it will work against us. We need people, but our tendency is to do things ourselves.
2. Leaders tend to be control freaks.
Other leaders within our organization may not feel comfortable stepping up to help because they know nothing they do will ever be good enough. It’s human nature to feel like nobody would do it as good as you, but that will limit your ability to grow your organization.
3. Good talent is hard to find.
It’s hard enough to release control and give the reins to someone else, but it is especially difficult when sharp leaders may be hard to come by. After looking for these leaders, it’s easy to get exhausted from the search and just settle for “okay” rather than waiting for “the one.”
How to Build A Deeper Bench
How do we create a culture where other leaders can thrive, and where we can tap people on the shoulder within our organization to step up and take over specific goals? As leaders, here is what we must do:
1. Come to grips with our own limitations.
Leaders, we’re not that good! In fact, if truth be told, there are actually only a few things that we are really good at. That is so freeing for me to say, because it allows me to open myself up to the reality that I need to find people who are good at the stuff I’m not good at. It’s not easy, and a lot of leadership is resolving our own internal issues.
An example of this would be that I don’t care for the management aspect of leading an organization. It sucks the life out of me. I’m just not that good at it, so that means I have to have people around me who excel at management. We don’t have to be good at everything, but we have to find someone who is.
2. Lead big.
Leaders want to be a part of something big. We have to have a vision that is compelling enough to inspire them to want to be a part of it. If your vision only attracts task-driven leaders, you’ll never have high-capacity leaders on your team. They want to be a part of something that requires their gifts and inspires them to come to work every day.
3. Give permission.
Give them space in which they can play and make decisions. “This is your zone, and what you say in this zone goes.” You will have to fight the urge to micromanage, because that will only frustrate them and possibly cause them to leave. In order to give them space, you will have to focus on letting go of perfectionism and the desire to control everything. Set the end goal, but the path to that goal may look differently than the way you would have done it.
Craig Groeschel said, “You can have growth, or you can have control, but you can’t have both.” I’ve heard people say, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” If that is your mentality, then you have limited the ability of your organization to reach any significant growth goals.
What if the leader makes a mistake? Mistakes are actually great opportunities for growth. As parents, our kids experience much of their growth through failure. It’s a process, so you should be committed to walking through that process with them. You can say something like, “You made this decision and went outside the lines. Let’s talk about how it went and what we have learned, so we don’t repeat the same mistake in the future.”
4. Create a culture of evaluation.
Leaders are going to make mistakes, but that’s part of their development as a leader. If they don’t make a mistake, that’s a problem because it means they are playing it safe or not feeling they have the authority.
In closing, the strength of your organization is not based on your control but on how much you empower. When you show someone you’ve given control away to them, that’s a sign that you are truly set up for growth and success.
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