A Lesson in Leadership

In his book, “Good to Great,” Jim Collins writes:

…leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.

In short, put your organization ahead of your personal career ambitions if you want to contribute to the organization and become a success. This is especially true at organizations experiencing high growth. Furiously fast growth often keeps companies from making that good to great transition. Why?

Because leaders fail to recognize the importance of bringing the rest of the team along. They focus instead on their next high-priority project or – God forbid – their next career move, or ensuring they don’t blow their budget in the quarter, or making a revenue quota. Together, these might be important things that require attention from a leader. But the best leaders find ways to balance their to-do lists and remember what (rather who) is making that flywheel gain momentum.

Who is the growth engine behind any company? The rest of the team – the employees who the company invested in, trained, on-boarded, assimilated and who now drink the Kool-aid and make things happen in the trenches to become…great.

If leaders don’t bring employees with them on the journey, the best and brightest people will find a different place where they can both contribute and feel connected as a team.

Collins adds:

Those who build great companies [leaders] understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not markets, or technology, or competition, or products. It is one thing above all others: the ability to get and keep enough of the right people.

So as a leader, I ask you: What have you done to enhance and motivate your people today? If the answer is, “nothing,” then be prepared…the brakes on the bus are about to be stomped.

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