Developing Leaders, Part Three

This post will wrap up a short list of leadership development ideas from Warren Blank, author of The 108 Skills of Natural Born Leaders. I hope you have been challenged by them - I know I have!

Push Constant Preparation – develop others by focusing them on constant preparation.



Use Diversity as Strength – master leaders know that differences make a difference. Seek out the assets in each person, and focus on how they add value to the team.



Differentiate Between Can’t and Don’t – recognize that people can doubt themselves, get discouraged, and lose their desire. Clarify where “can’t” actually refers to a skill, resource, or belief deficiency and work to improve that deficiency. Demonstrate that “don’t” reflects a person’s will and help them understand their lack of will.



Be an M&M: Model and Motivate Excellence – model and motivate people every day. Followers look to leaders to set the example. Your overt actions will motivate many people to step forward to accept leadership roles.



Pace the Marathon Race – exceptional leaders pace the marathon race to develop others as leaders. Work with others to not only bring them to the starting line, but encourage and develop them all the way across the finish line.



Be First Follower Ready – practice first follower readiness by looking for opportunities when you can visibly support another person’s direction-it offers them concrete evidence of forward movement toward becoming a more effective leader.Lead Up to Formalize Leader Development – your efforts to develop others as leaders will be greatly enhanced if you can get organizational support for the effort.

I wish there were "magic keys" that you could push to develop leaders. Fortunately, there are not! But if there were, these two keys would certainly be at the top of the list:


How is your leadership development coming along?