Always Stay Three Years Ahead

One of the common myths around leadership is that our job is to help our people become great.
It is true that you want to have a system and structure that helps nurture the growth of your people, yet our primary leadership focus isn’t about helping others become great. People who are committed to becoming great will become great, with or without you. (Aren’t you proof of that? Isn’t it true that you were committed to getting to where you are, with or without anyone’s help?!) Truly, one of the hallmarks of high talent is that they will learn to figure it out.

Yes, of course, we can help accelerate someone’s development, yet spending all of our time on “in-the-moment” development of our people takes us away from where we can truly get the biggest bang for our buck, as leaders, which is to always stay three years ahead of our people.

TRUTH: When you focus on being three years ahead, it does two amazing things: 

1.  It allows us to consistently focus on the vision for our organization and where we are going.
2.  That vision allows us to see the opportunities that our organization will have for key people in the future. 

My focus in each of my organizations is to help anticipate the roles we will need in the future, and then help create opportunities for my current people to step into those roles. The reality is that most people don’t stay with us because of what we are currently doing for them, yet instead, for what they believe we can help them achieve in the future. Talent always wants to know, “What’s Next?”

By staying three years ahead, I’m always aware of what might be in store for my key people.
While they must earn the right to take on a new opportunity, if I can always paint a picture for what their future might look like, it leads to them staying focused and committed to who they must become to earn that right, while also giving them confidence that the grass isn’t greener somewhere else, which can lead to them jumping ship for something else.

Shift your focus as a leader.
It’s not about making people great. It’s about:

•  Ensuring that your already-great (or soon-to-be-great) people have unlimited opportunities in your world
• They can see you as a vehicle for their success
• They know their consistent high performance will lead to you finding ways to open doors for them in the future (which helps them achieve their long-term career goals). 

Leaders: focus on the future!
Yes, you have to run the business in the present, yet don’t get stuck always being just there. Instead, dedicate regular time to crafting the future and thinking about what is over the horizon for you and your people!