Seven Disciplines of A Leader

13Practice 2: Never Stop Developing People

Let's look at two employees and compare their career paths. Both are the same age, both college graduates, both recent hires with an aircraft company. Lionel works in the company's sales support department, while Mary works in production planning.

Lionel's boss comes from the old school that doesn't believe in the value of training, consequently, Lionel receives the bare minimum dictated by company policy. Mary's boss is just the opposite. He has created a development plan for Mary that includes scheduled training in those areas that both Mary and her supervisor believe will expand her capabilities.

Fast-forward five years. Lionel is languishing in a low level sales support position while Mary has been promoted twice and is now in middle management.

Hands-On Advice: Develop every one of your employees, and when their capabilities expand and performance improves so will yours.

Developing and training is another key to keeping people engaged and motivated. By encouraging and promoting ongoing training and development, you create a pipeline of talented people who are full of ideas, thoughts, and inspiration. This sends a strong, motivating message to each employee: we care and we're willing to invest in you. You'll then be rewarded with tremendous engagement and enthusiasm, positioning your organization as an employer of choice.

Here's an even worse scenario, one that plays out time and time again in business. Jack was hired as a ...