To Marion Albanese, there is
nothing quite like empowering employees.
In fact, helping employees
recognize their talents and then
giving them the support to
grow has been the most
rewarding aspect of being managing partner of Ernst &
Young’s Tampa office.
“There are people who are
natural, who you’re going to go
to because they’re simply powerful,” Albanese says. “But
sometimes there are other individuals who, with a little prodding and empowerment and
support, can become great
leaders. You need more than
just that one go-to person.
Build that leverage and empower across broader resources.”
The lesson of believing in
someone and advancing them
is one Albanese learned from
one of her own mentors and
one she uses as she oversees
her 240 employees.
She says that finding great
leaders begins with identifying
their strengths and then providing opportunities for them to
foster that talent.
Smart Business spoke with
Albanese about how to identify
and develop leaders within your
organization.
Identify the strengths needed to be
a leader.
I’m a big believer in
playing to strengths and not
focusing on weaknesses. So
you identify people that are
very talented and not try to
necessarily fit them into a
mold but allow them to grow
into their own strengths.
When I look at somebody, I
think about, ‘Can they build a
team?’ Obvious goals are, are
they a self-starter, are they
goal-oriented, do they have the
technical skills? But leadership, I believe, is the ability to
build a team, to understand
people, to motivate them, what
motivates them, how to get the
best out of everybody, and
that’s very different depending
upon the individual. It’s the
ability to really sense and bring
out the best in someone.
You might think that includes
somebody who cares about
people, is compassionate or
who has empathy or can see
through to somebody.
I look at how people react to
them. How they treat people.
You can see the ones who
build the teams the best and
those that sometimes just
don’t know how to put others
into an environment where
everybody learns and grows.
Look around and watch
someone’s performance. Try to
get away from the noise.
Watch an individual. See how
they interact. See how they
build teams. Then give them
that shot.
Train employees to be leaders.
You lead them. You give them
experiences to watch others
lead, which would include giving them different types of
leaders so they can see what
works and what doesn’t work
sometimes.
You watch them, you coach
them, you give them those
experiences, and then, most
importantly, you give them the
chance to lead. Put them into
opportunities that they may
not think they’re completely
ready for or comfortable
[with], but generally know that
they are and that they might
stumble a bit, but they are
absolutely capable of doing it.
