Leadership Read

Lately, I read a leadership book talking about two dramatically different types of managers. The first type drains intelligence, energy and capabilities from the ones around them. They always need to be the smartest ones in the room. These are the idea killers, the energy stealers and the talent assassins. Those managers are trapped in their own ego, overpowering others and reducing the organization’s capabilities. The second type of leaders amplifies the intelligence and capability of the people around them. When these leaders walk into a room, light bulbs go on over people’s heads, ideas flow and problems get solved. These are the leaders who inspire employees to stretch themselves to deliver results that surpass expectations; they bring out the best in others. I guess we’ve all experienced these two types of managers. What type of manager are you right now?

Great leaders draw out the genius in people. Everyone around them gets smarter and skilled. People may not become geniuses in a traditional sense, but these leaders invoke each person’s unique intelligence and create an atmosphere of innovation, productive effort and collective intelligence. Better leverage and utilization of resources at the organizational level require adopting a new corporate logic: instead of achieving linear growth by adding new resources, you can extract the capability of your people more efficiently and watch growth rise steeply.

Leaders rooted in this logic believe that:

• Most people in organizations are underutilized.
• All capabilities can be leveraged with the right kind of leadership.
• Intelligence and capability can be multiplied without requiring a big investment.

As companies minimize resources, the need for leaders who can bourgeon the intelligence and capabilities around them is more vital than ever. In order to do so, organizations need leaders that operate as talent magnets. They attract talented people and then use them to their fullest. They get access to the best talent not because they are necessarily great recruiters but rather because people like to work for them. Working with that type of leaders, people know their capabilities will be appreciated and their value will be escalated in the marketplace later on.

To be a leader that attracts talent, there are four active practices that catalyze and sustain this cycle of attraction:

• Look for talent everywhere.
  
• Hire employees with the right fit.
  
• Utilize people to their fullest.
  
• Remove all the obstacles that may hinder talents progress.
  

Which will you be: A genius? Or a genius maker? The choice matters.

Written by : Charles Tawk, Senior Consultant with Meirc