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Key Elements in Developing the Next Generation: Humility & Willingness to Learn
March 28, 2008
In evaluating your successor(s), if you have determined that they exhibit a solid sense of identity, independence and have built relationships of interdependence with others, then, congratulations, they are on the right track. For those traits to translate into a respected leader, a fundamental issue for developing the next generation is humility.
In Jim Collins’ book, “Good to Great,” he says that Level 5 Leaders exhibit a blend of professional will and personal humility. As I indicated in the last two posts, it’s the personal humility side of this equation that is most important and is usually what motivates a strong will to succeed in business.
In determining a healthy level of humility in your successors, ask these questions:
Have my successors independently sought out a mentor to help them learn, grow and develop?
- Can my successor effectively subordinate himself or herself to a mentor and become an apprentice in learning the trade to which he/she feels called?
- Does my successor exhibit an ability to navigate effectively between being right and doing the right thing?
- Does my successor exhibit a stewardship responsibility with regard to the family business?
- Does the business mean more than what the business represents to him/her?
- Does he/she understand the business’ responsibility to employees, employees’ families, vendors, customers, etc.?
- What kind of person is my successor to his/her colleagues, friends and acquaintances?
It’s critically important that you do not confuse low self-esteem with humility or arrogance with strong leadership skills. If your identified successor has successfully navigated the identity, independence and interdependence characteristics covered in previous posts, then you can be reasonably assured that what you are seeing is true humility and not arrogance.
How you answer these questions will help you determine how well your identified successor(s) has developed to this point in terms of the ability to be a respected leader. Business acumen will be developed as a natural by-product of the character trait of humility.
Posted by Jeff Faulkner on March 28, 2008 | Comments (0)
