The Metiss Group's Blog

Every leader can tell you about the hard working, tireless group of employees that helped them start their business. The leader realizes they would not have experienced success without the contributions of these loyal workers.

Unfortunately as the business matures and changes, the people with whom you start your business are not necessarily those with whom you grow your business. The skills required to launch a start-up are different from those needed to grow. Even after the business has passed them by, most leaders are reluctant to displace the loyal group they started with.

A leader owes it to the organization and their loyal but underperforming employees to move along without them. This doesn’t mean their departure shouldn’t be treated more favorably than others, but they do need to be moved on.

Probably the best example of this was when Bill Gates realized Microsoft had outgrown him and he replaced himself as CEO with Steve Ballmer in 2000.

Empower yourself to challenge your loyalties and you’ll be a successful leader.

If you have children and have sat through one of their graduation ceremonies, you know the mixed feelings you experienced; a mix of joy, sadness, and pride – pride for the accomplishment of the graduate and pride for the contributions you’ve made to the graduate’s success.

You should feel the same pride for your direct report’s achievements.  If you continuously challenged your direct report to develop while providing resources and removing obstacles for their success, you should feel deep pleasure and satisfaction.  In fact, the resumes of leaders today will often include the development and accomplishments of their direct reports, as well as their own accomplishments.

Empower your direct reports to succeed and revel in their accomplishments.

It’s August, back-to-school specials are popping up at the stores, summer is winding down for school-aged children and families prepare for another transition into a new school year.  For some parents, it’s a relief to have kids return to school, for others there is a shared anxiety with children embarking on new schools, new classrooms, and new teachers.

Your one-on-ones provide a perfect venue to explore whether the family of your direct report is looking forward to the new school year or approaching it with apprehension.  Are there significant milestones forthcoming for any children  (first day of kindergarten, junior high transition, college visits for juniors, and schedule demands on seniors and parents)?

Exploring these upcoming events with employees allows you to know if a day or two off to prepare, or extra time off to deal with new demands on personal schedules might be in order.

Empowering your direct reports for success includes knowing when and how much to delegate given everything at stake.