Empower and support employees.
It can make all the difference
in the world.
You’ve got those people that
are natural-born leaders, and
they’re going to sometimes
take power. But even then,
sometimes, to rise to the next
level, I think empowerment is
a vital thing that happens.
It’s really basic. It’s telling
somebody they can do it. It’s
like teaching your child to ride a
bicycle. When you let go of that
bicycle and that kid takes off,
they know they can do it. It’s
that basic reassurance and confidence and building block.
You’ll get a result that you might
never have gotten without it.
Empower them, and then support them. Be extremely candid
with them on how they’re doing
— what they’re doing right,
maybe what they could alter,
giving them input, giving examples of times when I’ve faltered
or stumbled or other great leaders, not only in our firm but in
great organizations.
When an individual comes
into the firm, we would provide them with a peer adviser.
We provide them with a counselor that helps them with
their performance and goal
setting.
Part of what I believe [is
that] solid leaders are always
providing that mentoring. I
would suggest our leadership
here looks at mentoring and
counseling as simply part of
life and what we do.
It gives you somebody who
has seen how an organization
works, has seen how the community works, our clients
work. So it gives you knowledge. It gives you different perspectives. It can help with providing you visibility. It can help
with work-life balance issues.
Find new leaders.
It’s easy to go
to those that are the natural-born leaders, but if you only go
to those people, you’re not
going to leverage your leadership. You’re not going to be able
to truly grow as much as you
might otherwise by thinking
about other people who might
not be as apparent leaders.
If I have 300 people in a location and 10 people in leadership roles, if I don’t expand
that leadership group, I’m
never going to get to 600 people. I’m never going to grow
the business.
If we think about our world,
globalization, exclusivity, think
about gender, think about
diversity, think about
[Generation] X, [Generation] Y,
baby boomers, if I always go
to the same person, I’m never
going to be able to develop the
depth and the different types
of leadership that is a requirement in today’s world.
HOW TO REACH: Ernst & Young LLP, (813) 225-4800 or www.ey.com
