Have you been looking for leaders? Where have they all gone? Are they really gone, or have you just totally overlooked them in your search for someone from outside with an MBA, designer suit and slick haircut?
Too many times leaders are hiding in plain sight within your organization and you simply don’t notice them. Some may have been with your company for years, dedicated employees learning the ins and outs of the business. They are the ones that keep things operating smoothly and handling issues from other employees that you never even hear about.
Are you looking for leaders to solve issues?
These hidden leaders bring seemingly insignificant issues to the surface where they can be dealt with. They are in a position to make suggestions to improve processes, productivity or your bottom line. From their unique perspectives they can clearly identify ways to save the company money or make processes and systems more effective. Other employees bring issues and ideas to these unsung leaders because they respect them. They know that hidden leader will find a way to deliver the message and make things happen. Do you have any potential leaders hiding in plain sight?
Who should be looking for leaders?
Even the smallest companies need good leaders if they plan to grow and be successful. It is amazing how many small companies stay small and fail to grow in size and profitability. Why? Because the owner/founder fails to realize that they are the bottleneck hindering their growth and success. Release that death grip of control and start sharing leadership to make growth a possibility.
At some point, one person trying to control every facet of a business will bring even a thriving organization to a screeching halt. Dreams and goals of becoming a larger firm with multiple locations, exceeding tens or hundreds of millions in revenue, and having a global presence are not possible if an owner cannot let go and share leadership responsibilities.
Stop spending too much time working in your business, and start working on the business to achieve its vision. It takes a team to make visions into reality; a team made up of worker bees, managers and leaders. Each member of a team has special skills and talents that help achieve their goals. No one of those parts can be successful without the others.
