Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo / ifong
Ten days after graduating college, I started my career supervising the recreation division of a new parks and recreation department in a small town. I learned every aspect of running a department—knowledge and experience that helped me climb the professional ladder. One thing I discovered was that I had to change my thinking in order to develop a high-performing organization. This took me on a journey of professional development that included learning from my many mistakes, growing in wisdom and knowledge of management and leadership principles, learning successful principles from people in various industries, and devouring management books and articles to improve my thinking ability. For a few years I also owned a business that required me to develop a keen understanding of people in order to assist them to perform at their highest level. After going through all of this professional growth, I felt bold enough to share my knowledge, just as others shared their knowledge with me.
I have noticed that there are many excellent people in supervisory roles but who have little education or experience in effectively leading a staff. Staff members are required to follow the direction of their supervisor, but how much better would the staff perform if their supervisor was a more effective leader?
Take The Lead
I began my career as one of those supervisors who led from a position of authority, rather than from providing a model for a staff willing to follow my lead. After becoming painfully aware of this situation, I changed my thinking process to develop the skills of an effective leader. From attending training sessions, conferences, and schools for many years, I learned it is difficult to adequately teach leadership principles in 75-minute sessions. What’s more, only a small percentage of people attending these training sessions are prepared to incorporate the principles they learned into their personal development.