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The Care and Feeding of Your Growing Leader

Are leaders born or made? You will find experts on both sides of the aisle, but rather than argue about the birds and the bees of leadership, I would rather focus on the development aspect. People with natural tendencies and also those growing into leaders all have one thing in common. They have to learn more and more along the way. The workforce development industry needs leaders. It needs leaders to grow and expand business. It also needs leaders to grow and expand the clients and customers we serve. Either way, leadership is important and it should be a focus of our work.
 
A budding leader is like a rose. When someone starts to show their leadership abilities, you see the colorful bloom begin to emerge from the bud. Then slowly, the leader develops and more and more petals are exposed until you see the full beauty of the flower. Just like a flower you need the right conditions in order to get the leader to the full bloom.  Water, soil, and sunlight are all necessary for flowers and for growing leaders.
 
How do you water a leader? A growing leader does not need a downpour of responsibility dumped on their head. Instead, they need a gentle rain that quenches thirst without drowning.  For example, sometimes people are identified as a growing leaders and suddenly a ton of new responsibilities and extra duties are thrust at them. Slow down and let the leaders absorb.  Growing leaders need to learn one thing at a time and take the lessons from one item and move it to the next.  Some examples of small ways to start are being a regular presenter of a meeting agenda item or assigning them a project to complete. This will help build confidence.
 
Leaders need good soil. To a flower, the soil is where the food comes from. If the soil is not full of vitamins, the flower cannot grow.  For plants, not only does the soil contain the food, it also is a foundation. Leaders need a strong foundation. This may be knowledge and well established practices. This may be education and experience. As everything that grows is from the ground up, so are leaders. Your growing leaders need knowledge and experience. Some knowledge and experience comes with time, but much comes with opportunity. Never let time pass to provide the growing leaders with the opportunity to learn and to implement new ideas.
 
Finally, growing leaders need sunshine. A plant takes sunshine and makes glucose, or sugar, from the rays. Think about sugar and the burst of energy you get from consumption. Giving growing leaders the opportunity to shine will motivate them to further develop. It will invigorate the passion within themselves. To grow your leaders, you need to recognize the work they are doing to develop and improve. A moment in the sun, a chance to shine, is what will keep the leader growing. These moments may be individual moments with your growing leaders or with a group.  
 
It is important to take care of your growing leaders. Without the proper care and feeding, like flowers, they can die before they bloom. They can go back to following others and not lead the way. Why develop leaders? Without them, an organization cannot change and evolve with time. Without leaders, an organization can remain stagnant and eventually die.
 
 ~Karen J. Cirincione
Twitter: @kcirincione

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