If Your Employees Suck, Chances Are, You Do Too!

In leadership, you don’t attract who you want, you attract who you are. If your employees suck, it is almost certain that you do too!

According to Sam Adeyemi at the Global Leadership Summit, if your staff are not who you want them to be then perhaps you need to make a change in yourself! You need to be the change you want to see!

Adeyemi went on to say that as leaders it is our job to help our employees understand that;

  1. They are better than they think they are
  2. They can do more than they have already done
  3. Where they are is not where they belong
  4. They need to dream big and not settle where they are comfortable

We need to do all of this because our organizations will improve only when our people improve! And, our people will not improve unless we improve first!

I was talking with a friend recently and he was mentioning that in the last 5 years with his current company he has received only one training class. This lack of training is not limited to just him. It is endemic in this business so I am not surprised when he tells me about the deep structural and cultural issues that the business is facing!

When you do not invest in your people to make them better – so they can do more than they have already done – they will continue to do what they have always done . . . and usually a little less!

So, how should leaders invest in their people to change their hearts and their minds?

How Not to Suck: Four Steps to Change the Hearts and Minds of Your People

According to Adeyemi, a leader needs to complete these four steps to change the hearts and minds of their people:

  1. Model the transformation that you want to see – transform yourself into the leader required by the organization’s vision. Tell your people that they can do the same!
  2. Describe your vision for your organization continuously. Show your staff a clear vision of where your business is going and what they look like in this future!
  3. Set up a structured training system – Make sure that it can produce the ideal people you see in your vision.
  4. Reinvent yourself continuously – Don’t get stranded and die at one level of personal development. Always grow!

Take Action

Take some time for reflection this week and review your organization. Ask your self the following questions and answer them honestly!

  1. Are your employees the type of employees you really want in your organization?
  2. What are the common short failings that you need to address?
  3. Now comes the painful part – what can you do to overcome these short failings in your own character?
  4. What personal development do you need to do to model the positive traits that you want your employees to have?

Regularly taking time out of our busy schedules to complete this honest reflection is critical to our success as leaders and to the longevity of our organizations! It is our job as leaders to turn our organizations into leadership development factories. We need to build leaders that will change the world!

In conclusion, take some time and review these related posts:

 

After all, leaders get the best from others, not by building fires under people but by building the fire within them.” Kouzes and Posner

 

What are your experiences with leading others in the workplace? Leave your comments below!

 

Download a free copy of my new Ebook: 12 Steps to Business Transformation. If you would like a business assessment to help kick off your business transformation, contact me at info@thinkingbusinessblog.com or at 587-227-5179.

Be sure to sign up at www.thinkingbusinessblog.com for weekly blog updates delivered to your inbox.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.