Are you Developing Leaders or Followers

The importance of preparing leaders for succession has emerged as one of the significant concerns for today's leaders. In the book "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" John C Maxwell points out that becoming a leader who develops leaders requires an entirely different focus and attitude from those leaders who develop followers. 

Some of the differences are: 

Leaders Who Develop Followers 
Need to be needed                                      
Focus on the weakness                                 
Develop the bottom 20%
Treat their people the same for fairness         
Hoard power
Spend time with others
Grow by addition                                         
Impact on people they touch 

whilst       
Leaders Who Develop Leaders
Want to be succeeded
Focus on the strengths
Develop the top 20%
Treat their leaders as individuals for impact
Give power away
Invest time in others
Grow by multiplication
Impact people far beyond their own reach           

Jim Collins found in his book Good to Great,   mentioned previously, that Level 5 Leaders are those most likely to take an organisation to perform at the great level.   Level 5 leaders are generally home grown and far outperform superstar import leaders.  

It may be time to look at the way you are leading.   Are you setting your organisation up for future greatness or future mediocrity?   Are you a Level 5 Leader growing future Level 5 leaders or are you growing followers? 

Lyn Traill and Liz Cassidy