Value #4
GOOD LEADERS IN THE MIDDLE
MAKE BETTER LEADERS
AT THE TOP
In industrialized and free-market nations, we often take leadership for granted. A leadership culture has evolved to run the many organizations in such countries because commerce and industry are so strong. And because markets are so competitive, many of the leaders who emerge work hard to keep improving their leadership.
In developing countries, things are different. In the last five or six years, I’ve spent a lot of time teaching leadership around the world, and what I’ve found is that great leaders are few and far between in many of those countries—and 360-Degree Leaders are almost nonexistent. Most leaders in undeveloped countries are highly positional, and they try to keep as much distance as possible between their followers and themselves. It’s one of the reasons there is such a difference between the haves and the have-nots. There are, of course, many exceptions to the broad generalization I’m making, but if you’ve traveled overseas a great deal, you have probably noticed it too.
In places where the top leaders try to keep everyone else down, the overall leadership is usually pretty poor. Why? Because when all the power is at the top and there are no leaders in the middle to help them, the top leaders cannot lead very effectively.
Just in case you think I’m being too critical of leaders in emerging nations, I can tell you that this is a problem any place where there is one leader at the top and no 360-Degree Leaders to help lead. I personally experienced it in my own life in my first leadership position because I didn’t try to identify, develop, or empower anyone else to lead. As a result, my leadership was weak, the overall effectiveness of the organization was far below its potential, and within two years after I left the organization, it shrank to half its former size.
Good leaders anywhere in an organization make better leaders at the top.
It’s hard to overestimate the value of 360-Degree Leaders in the middle of an organization. In fact, good leaders anywhere in an organization make better leaders at the top—and make for a much better organization overall.
EVERY TIME YOU ADD A GOOD LEADER, YOU GET A BETTER TEAM
Good leaders maximize the performance of those on their team. They set direction. They inspire their people and help them work together. They get results. This is easy to see in sports where the only thing that changes on a team is the coach. When a better leader comes in, the same players often perform at a much higher level than they did before.
The same thing happens in any kind of organization. When a strong leader takes over a sales team, their performance goes up. When a good manager takes over at a restaurant, the operation runs more smoothly. When a better foreman runs the crew, the people get more done.
If you were to look at your entire organization (assuming it’s not a mom-and-pop-sized operation), you would be able to locate the quality leaders even before you met them. All you would have to do is look for the teams with consistently high results. That is where the good leaders are.
EVERY TIME YOU ADD A GOOD LEADER, ALL THE LEADERS IN THE ORGANIZATION GET BETTER
I thought it was very interesting when Tiger Woods moved up from the amateur ranks to become a professional golfer. He was so good that the rest of the field looked weak. He won his first Master’s Tournament at Augusta by a huge margin, and afterward he said he didn’t even have his “A” game all the days he played. Many people feared that Woods would so dominate the game that nobody would ever be able to beat him.
But a funny thing happened after Woods had played for a few years. Everyone else’s game went to another level. Why? Because strength brings out strength. The book of Proverbs says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”1
When a good leader joins the team, it makes the other leaders take notice. Good leaders bring out the best, not only in their followers but also in other leaders. Good leaders raise the bar when it comes to performance and teamwork, and this often challenges other leaders in the organization to improve.
GOOD LEADERS IN THE MIDDLE ADD VALUE TO THE LEADERS ABOVE THEM
Leaders in the middle of an organization are closer to the people in the trenches than are the leaders on top. As a result, they know more about what’s going on. They understand the people who are doing the work and the issues they face. They also have greater influence at those lower levels than the top leaders.
When there are no good leaders in the middle of an organization, then everyone and everything in the organization waits on the top leaders. On the other hand, when good leaders in the middle use their influence and commitment to assist the top leaders, they “stretch” the top leaders’ influence beyond their reach. As a result, the top leaders are able to do more than they would ever be able to do on their own.
GOOD LEADERS IN THE MIDDLE RELEASE TOP LEADERS TO FOCUS ON THEIR PRIORITIES
The higher you climb in an organization as a leader, the more you will see but the less you will actually do. You can’t move up and keep doing all the tasks that you do now. As you move up, you will have to hand off many of your old responsibilities to others. If the people who are supposed to do those tasks don’t perform them well, then you will have to keep taking those things back. You probably will not be able to do your new responsibilities effectively if that happens.
Let’s face it. There is no greater frustration for senior leaders than operating at a level below their own, because leaders in the middle need continual hand holding. If a leader has to do that, the organization ends up paying high-level dollars to solve low-end problems.
For this reason, the leaders at the top can only be as good as the middle leaders working for them. When you perform with excellence in the middle, you free up your leaders to perform with excellence above you.
GOOD LEADERS IN THE MIDDLE MOTIVATE LEADERS ABOVE THEM TO CONTINUE GROWING
When a leader grows, it shows. Growing leaders continually improve in their personal effectiveness and their leadership. Most of the time that makes their leaders want to keep growing. Part of that comes from healthy competition. If you’re in a race and someone is getting ready to pass you, it makes you want to pick up your pace and move faster.
There is also the contribution factor. When team members see others on the team making a significant contribution, it inspires them to step up. There is a natural joy that comes from being on a team that is functioning on an extremely high level.
GOOD LEADERS IN THE MIDDLE GIVE THE ORGANIZATION A FUTURE
No organization keeps moving forward and growing using yesterday’s ideas and ways of doing things. Future success requires innovation and growth. And it requires the continual emergence of new leaders. In The Bible on Leadership (Amacon, 2002), Lorin Woolfe writes, “The ultimate test for a leader is not whether he or she makes smart decisions and takes decisive action, but whether he or she teaches others to be leaders and builds an organization that can sustain its success even when he or she is not around.”
Today’s workers are tomorrow’s leaders in the middle of the organization. And today’s leaders in the middle will be tomorrow’s leaders at the top. While you function as a 360-Degree Leader in the middle of the organization, if you keep growing you will probably get your opportunity to become a top leader. But at the same time, you need to be looking at the people working for you and thinking about how you can prepare them to join you and eventually take your place in the middle. You will be able to spot potential leadership candidates because they will be more than just good workers.
TODAY'S WORKERS TOMORROW'S LEADERS
Implement current ideas Generate new ideas
Identify and define problems Solve problems
Get along with the people they have Attract sharp people
Work within the current framework Take risks
Value consistency Value and spot opportunities
Leadership expert Max DePree said, “Succession is one of the key responsibilities of leadership.” That is true. There is no success without a successor. Being a 360-Degree Leader is about more than just doing a good job now and making things easier today for the people working above and below you. It is about making sure the organization has a chance to be good tomorrow too. As you teach others to perform 360-Degree Leadership, you will be giving the organization greater depth as well as strength. You will be helping to raise the bar in such a way that everybody wins.
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