The Best Leaders Tip #11

Have a Soul: Share the Wealth

This is my 11th of 12 posts about how to be among the Best Leaders.  In these, I provide inspiration for everyone seeking professional and personal growth as a leader of people, projects, groups, teams and organizations. I welcome your comments and feedback. 

Share the wealth.  Who are the best leaders?  You can tell by how successful their subordinates are.  Unfortunately, too many people at the top think the way to stay there is to defend their position against perceived threats… including against talented high performers.  This leads to hoarding information, money, opportunities, political capital – things that could be shared with others in order to help them grow.  As in our homes, hoarding is detrimental to organizations for many reasons. 

First, ultimately, leaders who hoard are weaker and more vulnerable because they have not engendered the loyalty among their people.  Second, they haven’t created a pipeline of qualified people to succeed them.  This gives the leader and the follower less room to move. 

So, be a strong leader by building up those under you. Reward good work with recognition (public and private), bonuses, perks, development opportunities, and other things important to your teams.  Share information that can help them do their jobs well and feel empowered.  In giving, you are stabilizing your organization’s future – and your own.