Most executives prize those people in
their organization who exhibit leadership qualities — whether they are in the executive suite or on the front line. Yet,
it’s an executive’s responsibility to help
employees develop leadership qualities.
As president and CEO of InfoCision
Management Corp., Carl Albright has a lot of
experience developing and nurturing leaders.
“People look for leaders in all walks of life to
inspire them to do well, to be better than they
can be,” Albright says, adding that good leaders never will ask their people to do anything
they wouldn’t do, whether it’s working on a
Saturday, coming in early or working late.
Smart Business spoke with Albright about
leaders and what makes them tick.
What is leadership in a business setting?
People want to be led by people who know
what they are doing and have done the job
before. People like working for people who
have their best interests at heart. And people
want to work for people who will help them
become leaders.
How do you develop leadership in your management team?
Good leaders are good followers. Look for
people who are good team members. I teach
nine or 10 sessions a year on all aspects of
management, including how to manage people and how to get the most out of them.
Encourage people in your company who
exhibit leadership to take classes. Best of all,
tell them to watch closely those people who
inspire them. Take notes on how those people operate — whether it’s a boss, a teacher
or a sports coach. If there is someone in your
operation who became an account executive
in four years, go up and ask how he or she did
it. Ask what he did to help himself succeed.
How do you develop leadership in workers?
Look for people who are good at the job
they’re doing now and who have the right
attitudes. Some people can be very good at
their jobs but have poor attitudes. Others
love the company but don’t do the best job.
Look at attendance and work ethic. Do they
want to move up. Do they get results? Do they have good attitudes? Do they have the
company’s best interests at heart? Conversely, you should show them you have their best
interests at heart. Everyone starts low and
moves up if he or she does well.
How do you recognize or identify those people with leadership qualities?
First, people should always know where
they stand. There should be a formal review
process after the first 90 days, six months and
then annually. However, if your staff members do not know how you feel about their
job before you sit down for the review, there
is a problem. Good leaders will tell people
when they are doing great. If a worker is
struggling, he or she should know that well
before the review. One rule of leadership is
that there should be no surprises.
What helps to bring out leadership qualities
in employees?
Mentoring programs are great. If you identify someone early on who has leadership qualities, pair that person with someone outside his or her department who has similar
job functions. Then, give that person more
challenges to see if he or she can lead as well
as follow. You want to see if that employee
can go beyond following a straight line from
A to Z and exhibit leadership qualities. Then,
encourage the employee to attend seminars
or go to classes. Tell that person to emulate
a sports coach, teacher or manager whose
style he or she admires.
How do you handle situations where two
good leaders’ ideas conflict?
That is bound to happen. Good people can
have differences of opinion. However, when
you leave the conference room, you need to
have an agreement. Executive vice presidents don’t always think alike. So, there has
to be compromise. Everyone has to come
out of the room on the same page. It does no
good to force a policy on people. You need to
get buy-in from everyone. Be sure everyone
is on board.
Are there books or seminars you’d recommend for developing leadership skills?
If you have people who get nervous in a
crowd, send them to Toastmasters. Have
guest lecturers and speakers come in to your
office. Have your best managers mentor people. I have a library of books 25 or 30 feet
long — books on managing time, managing
people and motivating people. I love to read
the philosophies of sports coaches, such as
Pat Riley, Rick Pitino and John Wooden.
Right now, I’m recommending Jim Collins’
‘Good to Great.’ I’ve always liked GE’s Jack
Welch and books like ‘Straight from the Gut.’
Gordon Bethune’s ‘From Worst to First’ is
another good read. On top of that, take notes
on people whose style you admire. Follow
up with people. Leaders give credit where
credit is due, but take blame when things
don’t go well.
CARL ALBRIGHT is president and CEO of InfoCision Management Corp. Reach him at [email protected]. InfoCision
Management Corporation is the second largest privately held teleservices company and a leading provider of customer care services,
commercial sales and marketing for a variety of Fortune100 companies and smaller businesses. InfoCision is also a leader of inbound
and outbound marketing for nonprofit, religious and political organizations. InfoCision operates 32 call centers at 13 locations throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For more information, visit www.infocision.com.