(Notes from today’s Leadership lesson)
In 2005, I became a part of an organization that helps train leaders.  The organization is built on leaders training leaders who then train leaders under them.  A successful sales executive in the US automobile industry, a non-profit professional, and I went to Russia where over 3 days of 8-hour lessons, we trained leaders about qualities and techniques of leadership.  Now the 700 attendees of these lessons had to agree to then turn around and teach the same leadership lessons to at least 25 people during the next 6 months to be able to continue in the 3-year program.  So through the influence of just three leaders, 17,500 people were trained (the 700 attendees each taught 25 people, 700 x 25 = 17,500).  This is an example of how good leadership reflects the Law of Multiplication.

The Law of Multiplication only works when you become a Leader of Leaders.

“If you develop yourself, you can experience personal success.
If you develop a team, your organization can experience growth.
If you develop leaders, your organization can achieve explosive growth.” John C. Maxwell

Leaders who Attract Followers … Need to be Needed
Leaders who Develop Leaders … Want to be Succeeded

Many times people see an incorrect depiction of leadership.  Leadership is not about having a throng of followers or people doing things for you.  Leadership is not about ordering people around!  This is called dictatorship, not leadership.

Leadership focuses around what needs to get accomplished together as a team.   Leadership focuses around what is left behind – an improvement to the business, to society, to the environment that is bigger than one person – where it takes a team together to accomplish this goal.  A true leader leaves an organization in a better situation than he found it.   Leadership is never about the leader.  It can never be about being needed.

Leaders who Attract Followers … Develop the Bottom 20%
Leaders who Develop Leaders … Develop the Top 20%

Human action naturally follows the 80/20 principle, commonly known as the Pareto Principle.  We spend 80% of our time on 20% of our issues.  As a leader, you spend 80% of your time on 20% of your team, but which 20% are you focusing on?  As a leader, if you let 80% of your time be focused on the bottom 20% people – your team will never accomplish your goals.  As a leader you can not focus on your “problem children.”  These problem children can not get in the way of you spending time with your “straight A students.”

Questions:  Who are your best future leaders?  Who are your “Straight A Students?”  You must be deliberate with setting up time for them each week to continue their development, hear their concerns, and give them the time and effort to grow them as leaders.

Leaders Who Attract Followers … Focus on Weaknesses
Leaders Who Develop Leaders … Focus on Strengths

Hear again the 80/20 principle holds true.  If you focus on the Problem Children, then you are by definition focusing on your problems and not your strengths.  Unsuccessful people usually need help with the basics.   Are you focused on why you did not make a deadline or are you focused on how you can improve on something.  Are you focused on your problems?
One of the things we do here at Khidmah is have everyone take the Birkman assessment test upon joining.  This test helps each person and their supervisor know the strengths and weaknesses of a person.  It is important for everyone to know where they should improve, but at Khidmah, it is just as important that each person is placed in the area of her strength.

Leaders Who Attract Followers … Treat Everyone the Same
Leaders Who Develop Leaders … Treat Individuals Differently

Leaders must give rewards, praise, and responsibilities based on results.  The people who produce results should get the greatest rewards.  Effort is good and needs to ENCOURAGED, BUT NOT REWARDED – THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.   Equal treatment to all on your team leads to disincentivizing the good players for the sake of the marginal players.   There is a growing trend in the West, which rewards little league teams for participation.  In fact they give everyone a trophy, even the losers.  This is not leadership, and does not encourage excellence or above average performance.    To be a leader, you must encourage all to perform, but make sure you focus on the results that are produced and reward them.

It should be noted that as a leader, you must know the leaders you lead.  Each person is different and cannot be rewarded the same.  Some leaders like public praise, some are driven by time with their family, and some only see financial incentives.  So it is critical for the leader to know whom he leads and what is important to each person.  What and How to praise is very important.

Leaders Who Attract Followers … Spend Time with Others
Leaders Who Develop Leaders … Invest Time in Others

As a leader, you must be very intentional with the time you spend with the leaders you are developing.  Each leader must invest into those they lead differently and work to develop each person.  If you are not improving those around you, then the time you are spending with others is wasted time.

Again, a leader must know what each person needs and then be intentional with the time they spend with others.

Leaders Who Attract Followers … Grow by Addition
Leaders Who Develop Leaders … Grow by Multiplication

Each follower that you add to your team will only equal the amount of work they can produce.  However, when you add a leader to your team, this not only adds to your team what they can produce but also it multiplies by what the leader’s followers will produce.  In order for Khidmah to keep up with the massive growth in the future, we must be adding people to our company that can lead others.

Leaders Who Attract Followers … Impact Only People They Touch
Leaders Who Develop Leaders … Impact People Beyond Their Reach

If a leader only attracts followers, the leader will burn out.  This happens because all of the pressure and decisions must be made by this one leader.  Leaders who lead followers find they have to “touch” all of the followers and followers become needy for the leader.  However, when leaders lead leaders, they are freed up from pressure and all of the decisions.  Leaders take things off of their leader’s plate – or lighten the load of their leader.   With this lightened load, the leader can then go out and increase the vision, see new opportunities and grow the overall wellbeing of the department or organization.

Lead On!
Sutton

(this material for this teaching is from Dr. John C. Maxwell’s Law of Multiplication)