Focus On The Younger

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As a leader, where is your focus? I have stated before that I believe everyone is a leader, because leadership is influence, and everyone has influence. How we use (or ignore) that influence determines your leadership effectiveness.

Most of us as leaders desire for the task to get accomplished, the desired outcome to be achieved, the organization to grow and move forward.

But there is a very important dimension of leadership that is sometimes overlooked as we go about leading: The development of Young Leaders.

Leading Young Leaders is difficult, time-consuming, and often frustrating. But, I believe it is one of the (if not THE) most important aspects of leadership.

One of the basic tenants of leadership is to work ourselves out of a job. To do that effectively, we must be mentoring others to replace us. And that's where investing in Younger and inexperienced Leaders becomes important.

Here are some simple suggestions for focusing on the Younger Leaders:

• Spend time with Young Leaders. They need our counsel, input, direction, and mentoring. That can't be done effectively unless we spend time with them.
• Teach Young Leaders. Simply directing them only makes them minions. They need our expertise to be shared with them.
• Take Young Leaders with you. Allow them to see us in multiple leadership situations. Allow the down time (riding in the car, etc.) to be opportunities for influence.
• Delegate to Young Leaders. Don't simply give tasks to do, but give them the responsibility and ownership of what you are delegating.
• Allow Young Leaders to make mistakes. Don't chastise or immediately correct. Use times like this to be a learning experience. Allow them to suggest how to do things better.

Although this list is not exhaustive, it can serve as a starting point for focusing on Younger Leaders. Question: What are some effective strategies you use to focus on Younger Leaders?

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