Time management is a great idea when it comes to things in your life. It’s about organization, efficiency and getting things done. However, as a tool to guide people through change, it misses the mark. In fact, when you’re leading change, the last thing you want to do is manage your time. Instead, invest it in the people with the potential to become change leaders, and the benefits you reap may surprise you. What follows is an incredible story that illustrates the point.
A few years ago, I was upset when a player for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers punched a teammate and was subsequently suspended by the team for a measly game. I felt this punishment was too lax (after all, the attacked teammate ended up in the hospital) and wrote an angry letter to team owner Jerry Richardson expressing so. Mr. Richardson not only acknowledged my letter after I figured it would end up in the trash, but he went one giant step further. He offered to visit my thirteen-year-old son, who was a huge fan of the team, and me, along with the star player in question, wide receiver Steve Smith.
They made the two hour round trip from the team headquarters to my house and stayed with us for three hours. I learned that day that Steve Smith is a good man who made a big mistake and was willing to learn and take responsibility for his actions. I admire him a lot for that. From Mr. Richardson, I learned the power of a leader who is personally invested in future leaders who can make a difference.
Jerry Richardson invested time in me that day, but more importantly, he invested time and energy in Steve Smith, someone with the potential to lead changes on the playing field. I can only imagine the discussions they had while traveling back and forth and the bonds they forged and then continued. Not coincidentally, the following season Steve Smith emerged as the team’s biggest star and helped lead them to a Super Bowl appearance.
Mr Richardson identified Steve Smith as someone he called a ‘diamond in the rough’, a leader with untapped potential. Then he personally invested his time and energy in helping Steve unlock his potential. He can do the same with the rough diamonds in his organization. Here are five tips to help you get started.
- Take responsibility for the development of people. Common comfort zones like crunching numbers and formulating strategies have their place, but both are useless if you don’t have leaders in place to execute. So, take responsibility for the human side of the equation as well. Recognize that more pressing issues will always arise, so do whatever it takes to make finding and developing people a priority. Schedule time for relationship building on your calendar. Make a list or create a spreadsheet to track your progress if necessary. Set goals for people development and stay on top of them.
- Identify your Steve Smiths, or your “diamonds in the rough.” You can’t invest in your future change leaders if you don’t know who they are. Some ‘diamonds’ are obvious. Your talent and skill dazzles and stands out, but others may require energy and effort to unearth. This can be especially true if you work in a large organization where talented people lie buried within the bureaucracy. In this case, use the old Tom Peters walking management technique. Get out of your comfort zone. Visit places in your organization where you don’t know as many people. Talk to at least one new person a day. Take the new guy or gal out to lunch. When you visit remote sites, make sure you meet people relevant to your line of business, and then follow up with the people you meet.
- Once you find them, don’t delegate your ‘diamond’ development. Without a doubt, HR and its training department have a role to play in honing the skills and abilities of future leaders. But the smartest leaders take personal responsibility for helping people grow. Once you’ve identified the people you think could be future change leaders for your organization, get personally involved in their development. Jerry Richardson responded to my letter and made the initial call. Jerry Richardson invited Steve Smith to join him on his visit. Jerry Richardson even drove the car himself. He did not delegate these duties; he owned them as his own. Bad time management? Maybe. But, poor time management often creates the conditions for great change leadership to happen.
- Polish your gems by asking questions. The best leaders ask questions, lots of them. They don’t spend a lot of time running around and telling people what to do. In fact, they don’t hire people who have to wait to be told what to do. Instead, they unleash talent by presenting problems and asking for ideas rather than offering solutions. They understand that their job is to lead, not to do. They encourage people to think. They encourage people to act. They remove organizational obstacles that hold back talent. They ask questions instead of barking orders.
- Explore ideas and build relationships beyond the confines of the job. Engage people on a variety of topics beyond the common problems in your industry. Refining someone’s leadership often means helping them look beyond the confines of their everyday world for novel solutions and product innovations they can bring back. Become emotionally involved too. Spend time getting to know your future leaders. Find out what matters to them, inside and outside of work. Sometimes engaging in small talk can lead to great ideas. You may discover a personal situation that holds someone back or stops them, such as illness or the loss of a loved one. You may not be able to do anything tangible to help, but just knowing you care can be reassuring and give you a lift. If you want people to be there for you when the going gets tough, as they inevitably will be when the going gets tough, you first need to personally invest in them.
one final word
If investing in people sounds like a ‘soft’ activity to you, you’re right. It is. But rare is the company that can consistently deliver good, solid results without first making soft investments in people. People determine if you win or lose, if the game is football, business or life. To better lead change, stop managing your time and start investing it in people. Then enjoy while the winnings add up.