WE, AS LEADERS, MUST TAKE THE TIME AND EFFORT TO LEARN.
A large part of a leader’s time and efforts should be devoted to Leadership Development and Succession Planning. As an organization, we must insist that relevant learning takes place at every level as part of our core values. We must have a developmental leadership model defined and successfully implemented, and a developmental strategy and process that our leaders understand, embrace, and are held accountable for.
The absolute best leaders understand how to motivate and inspire their high potential candidates and create a plan they both can commit to, with a development process that is consistent across the organization. For it to be successful, they must act as a leadership role model, mentor, and coach, empowering their people by giving them the authority to get things accomplished in the most efficient and timely manner.
So, how do we as leaders Take The Time And Effort To Learn? I have always believed that I was fortunate to learn how to do this from my time at UPS. My valuable lesson came from an early policy at UPS. When the opportunity for a full-time management position became available, the policy was: we became a full-time driver first, and then moved into full-time supervision if that was the path we chose. All roads to full-time management were through a driving position.
This was a great opportunity and an honor to become a full-time driver. Why did I view this as a great first step? This was, in fact, who we are as a company, and we all needed to understand who we are, what we stood for, and more importantly, what we would not compromise: service to our customers.
That was a lesson I held onto and never compromised as I moved through the organization and took on new jobs and responsibilities. Before we can plan, instruct, and manage, we must first learn for ourselves. From that point forward, whether inside UPS or the roles I had after retiring from UPS, my first task was to spend a day in an operation or function important to our core business and learn it from the people who did it every day with great pride, efficiency, and service.
Leaders Must Take The Time And Effort To Learn.
It becomes clear when you take this approach that our best learning comes from others, especially those people in our care and supervision. Collectively, they know their jobs, perform them well, and care for each other more than we will ever know. Understanding this comes from spending quality time with them.
We also learn from our peers, from people in other functions tasked with supporting us, and we learn and develop new ideas for old problems from these interactions. Don’t hesitate to seek out advice to increase your knowledge. This is not a sign of weakness, but one of strength. For me, the biggest thing I knew was what I did not know! No one person knows it all, nor are they expected to know it all. When you find that person who believes they know it all, feel for them, as they now have no place to go and nothing to learn. They are no longer curious, but have sadly become simply judgmental.
Finally, as leaders, we must provide candid and helpful performance feedback to direct reports on a regular basis, both formally and informally. This ensures that performance feedback is an integral part of every supervisor’s/manager’s daily job responsibility. We must insist that our leaders accept developing subordinates as a major job requirement, and they begin to develop a history of developing written succession plans and mobilizing company resources to support the plan.
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Let’s work together. I am a practitioner as well as an educator and motivator, and an experienced senior leader and CEO with over 45 years of boots-on-the-ground experience. I led one of the largest rebranding initiatives in franchising history – The UPS Store, revolutionizing the $9 billion
retail shipping and business services market.
I believe that none of us can achieve success without some help along the way. For each of us, there is a person, a mentor, who we are grateful towards and who can help us get to where we aspire to be. Sharing stories and experiences as a speaker is a way of recognizing the value of these experiences and giving back to the next generation of leaders. It also is a way of demonstrating in words and deed the value I am placing in mentorship. As for me, I have been fortunate to have worked with and mentored by some incredibly special people, and none more incredible than Coach John Wooden.
I have broad experiences to share that can help others as they grow and take on new challenges. During my time as president of UPS Supply Chain Solutions, I integrated over 20 acquisitions that became UPS Supply Chain Solutions. I steered UPS’s entry into the health care industry and created the mantra, “It’s a patient, not a package. ®” With the ability to see a clear vision of the changing business landscape, the passion to develop strategies, tactics, and metrics to drive desired results, and the passion to develop the Best, The Brightest, Most Informed, and Best People in the industries they serve.
Please give me a call today at 610-322-0720 or email at
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