Building Blocks for Great Leaders

David Mendel, Interim Chief Information Officer, King County

David Mendel, Interim Chief Information Officer, King County

I have been leading people for forty years, the first twenty of which as an Enlisted man in the U.S. Navy, followed by two years in the private sector and the last eighteen years in local government. There are four things that I spend my time thinking about when it comes to developing leaders. I think to be a great leader you also must be a great follower. People don’t just happen to be great leaders; they invariably are influenced along the way and their development is purposeful either due to their own initiative or those around them. Staff at all levels should be given opportunities to expand their skillsets, experience, influence, and to learn. The fourth pillar in developing leaders is to hire well because without great people you are never going to attain great leaders.

In my mind leadership development begins long before taking over the reigns as a leader and begins with being a good follower. I believe we must invest in our teams at the individual contributor and front-line supervisor level to foster the next generation of great leaders. We do this by setting clear expectations, setting the bar high, holding people accountable and challenging them to grow in their positions. Holding periodic 1:1’s where performance feedback is discussed is one of the keys as well as providing honest performance feedback during annual evaluation periods. Current leaders must have the morale courage to give honest feedback and not fall victim to what I would call here “performance appraisal enticement.” In this enticement, leaders can be tempted to hang a carrot out there by giving higher marks and more glowing narrative comments than a team member deserves in the hopes that it entices them to reach this fictitious level of performance. I would humbly submit that this is one of the biggest mistakes leaders can make in terms of employee and leadership development.

I often reflect on my service in the Navy and how it impacted my own leadership development. The livelihood of our armed forces rests in its leadership. In my experience leadership isn’t something that just happens, it is something that is carefully cultivated, nurtured, cared for and constantly maintained. In the Navy, there is an expectation that individuals will always move up the ladder in rank with purpose. At each authority stratification leadership training is provided. The training is targeted for the authority level and experience of the sailor, is deliberate, mandated, and tracked to ensure that all-hands receive the proper training throughout their years of service. Naturally, as one progresses through the ranks their authority grows with their experience and span of influence. At the lower levels, leaders are promoted more based on technical knowledge, but as they ascend, promotional opportunity is more and more focused on demonstrated leadership skill, varied experience and sustained superior performance. I question how much we do that in local government, e.g. are we promoting more typically based on technical prowess or leadership skill. It’s easy to be wooed by the person who speaks all the techno-speak but I believe we must resist that temptation and hold out for people who have the leadership soft skills needed by each role.

“I believe we must invest in our teams at the individual contributor and front-line supervisor level to foster the next generation of great leaders.”

I believe very strongly in giving staff opportunity to show what they can do and investing my time and energy in coaching and mentoring those people who are seeking to move up in the organization is a priority of mine. Opportunities tend to abound in todays’ workforce, primarily because we are all understaffed. If we always rely on our ‘superstars’ this will undermine the effectiveness of the entire team, is unsustainable in the long term and builds complacency. In those 1:1’s with your team members, explore with each what interests, hobbies, and goals they have. Knowing how those shape up can be key to putting the right person on the right task, especially when those high priority things come up that are outside of the normal scope of the team. That is a perfect opportunity to give someone who can lead a team on a smaller short-term task. On another note, knowing your people is important. Each person has a set of traits that are different and not all people are cut out for all the opportunities that will come along. In fact, I would argue that leaders need to be very deliberate in providing opportunities or assigning work. Recognizing the skills each team member has and matching those with the task is crucial when providing opportunities you are hoping will result in successful outcomes.

Lastly, it is imperative that every staff recruitment effort in the organization is conducted to land the best and most qualified people. It will never be okay to settle for less than you need when hiring. Don’t let urgency drive you or your organization to bringing people into the organization if they don’t fully meet your qualifications. Similarly, it will never suffice to recruit for talent and not have a clear understanding of what skill competencies you are looking for. There are a myriad of tools and methodologies out there, but the bottom line is targeting your job announcements to seek and find those hard-to-find competencies and similarly, don’t spend time looking for competencies that are easily taught.

Developing strong leaders doesn’t just happen overnight. When you read books about great leaders, they tend to have similar traits and they often speak of the things I have written into this article. Great followers can become great leaders when they have people in their lives that will influence and develop them with purpose. Taking risks with people to challenge them and provide them with opportunities for growth are also keys to development. If the chain is only as strong as its weakest link, it must also be true that talent acquisition must be performed very well to ensure the organization is hiring well and brining the top talent into the organization. I believe these considerations have been a big part of my leadership, have benefited my organizations, and have led to the development of great leaders. I wish you luck in your leadership development work.