leadership development

One thing marks every long standing organization or institution: the ability to transfer purpose, vision and meaning to the next generation, so they can continue to influence and to carry the legacy.

But this action is easier said than done. Today I want to offer practical ways to help you pass on the legacy baton to the next generation (or next gen) leaders to better ensure the organization doesn’t drift from its founding principles.

Articulate The Why

Over time in any organization how something is accomplished might change. New technology and methods allow things to be done differently. Simon Sinek is a leading proponent of transferring The Why of what we do versus the how or what.

We all want more leaders and influencers to help our organization be successful. (That is, unless you are a control-freak and feel threatened by any emerging influencer.)

With this goal in mind, we prescribe how to identify the high-capacity influencers in your organization that need your investment to develop their potential.

What Are Practical Ways to Identify a High-Capacity Influencer?

A vision-centered leader will build goodwill—by developing friendly, helpful, or cooperative feelings and attitudes.  The likability of the leader is important in this endeavor but isn’t the only issue. The leader must foster and fight for unity within the team, dealing with conflict and sharing the vision in a compelling way so that the team’s buy-in is high.

Influential leaders are often visionaries. They see a clear picture in their head of a dream to accomplish and rapidly begin pursuing it. They are opportunity focused. 

If not careful, visionary leaders can err on one of these two fronts:

Fifty-one percent of any leader’s job is to use  their influence to develop new leaders. How do we, as leaders, proactively grow and empower emerging leaders? A chief means is to have a deliberate process which serves to increase a leader’s decision space.