Great Leaders Produce Great People

A friend of mine, we’ll call him Nick, is the CEO of a sizable company located in my area.  He is considered, say many, to be a great leader. 

Never having worked with him, I was not able to pipe into this conversation. But I can now.

We were chatting recently when Nick recounted a story about the resignation of a senior resource in his organization.  ‘Out of the blue’ he said.  ‘Potentially disastrous for our company in the short term. A real problem for the department he runs and a real loss for the organization.”  And, he told me that this person went to the competition.  Ouch.

So how do I know that my friend Nick IS a great leader?  Because of the rest of the conversation.

Nick was really proud of his employee.  He was proud of the professional growth that he saw in her, over the years.  He was proud that this person had progressed so much within his company.  And he was most proud that HIS company was able to produce such a great resource – even if it was for the competition.

We all know of very large organizations out there that are famous for producing great people who more often than not, eventually end up elsewhere in the industry.   My third child works for one of those (soft drinks and food and rhymes with ‘epsy’). This is a great reputation to have.

When I study leadership qualities within my leadership workshops, this desired quality is mentioned every time. 

Great Leaders product great people.