Develop leaders
Davis learned that in order for new leaders to develop in his company, he has to throw them the ball and trust them with it. So he tries to strike a balance between letting go and watching how they handle the responsibility.
“It’s necessary to be able to delegate to your people. You can’t be a micromanager,” he says. “But at the same time, I think you need to follow up to be sure that people are doing their job and have some method to measure how well they are doing that particular job.”
The fine line lies at how often you’re monitoring your people. The more closely you examine each step of their progress, the closer you inch toward micromanagement.
“If you’re just looking at results and not questioning the wisdom of every judgment they make, that’s not micromanaging,” Davis says. “You have to let people do enough things and make a few mistakes and hopefully they learn from those mistakes.”
Of course, the way you handle their mistakes can either foster or stint their growth. Davis, for example, prefers to discuss what caused the mistake and how the employee can improve next time. But again, it’s up to them to learn from it.
“I don’t get very upset when people make a mistake,” he says. “What I get upset about is if they make the same mistake twice or if there’s an area that I have told them to be careful about and that’s where the mistakes happen.”
On the other hand, when you see employees using opportunities to improve, it may be a sign they’re ready for more responsibility.
“Go back to the people that have been successful in the job that you’ve asked them to do,” Davis says. “You have an opportunity for more responsibility, then I think that’s the person you’re going to take the chance with — and it’s a chance anytime you promote anybody into a new position. You’re taking risks.
“The question you have to have, always, is, ‘Can he run a larger company?’ I look at him and I see he’s done a great job running a smaller company, and my judgment is that he has the ability to run a larger company.”
But, because you’re taking a chance when you make that call, how can you reduce the risk? What if the employee isn’t ready for the responsibility?
“Well, you have to look at his management style,” Davis says with a nod back to the delegation discussion. “He’s running a smaller company; has he delegated or has he done everything himself? If he’d been a one-man band, he’s probably not going to work well. He doesn’t have any experience or maybe the talents to run a larger operation.
“But if he’s been good at hiring the right people, delegating to those people and making sure that they’re doing a good job, then he probably could handle a larger operation.”
With 21 of the company’s 70 presidents coming through the Leadership Development Program, Davis jokes that he can always give aspiring presidents more responsibility.
“I tell them that I never have enough company presidents,” he says. “We can acquire a lot more companies today if we had enough people to run them.”
How to reach: Consolidated Graphics Inc., (713) 787-0977 or www.cgx.com
Visit the Leadership Development Program Web site: www.cgxoncampus.com
