"Bringing Out Great Energies and Talent" Still the Keys to Great Leadership

image:blog.hreonline.com
culled from:global-executive-coaching.blogspot.ch

In preparation for an assignment I stumbled upon this quote: "I believe the real difference between success and failure in a corporation can be very often traced to the question of how well the organization brings out the great energies and talents of its people." It is by Thomas J. Watson, Jr., IBM CEO, who wrote it in 1963 in his groundbreaking book Business and its Beliefs. Just a side note: I was an infant in 1963.

The interesting thing about his quote is that it celebrates its 50th (!) anniversary this year. Thousands upon thousands of books and articles about business success, talent, motivation and leadership have been published since. We do not expect new groundbreaking insights into these themes any time soon. In other words: the apparent wisdom of successful talent management has already been spread around the globe.

If bringing out the great energies and talent of people is key to successfully running any organisation, then it is clear that getting there requires solid leadership capabilities across the organisation. Then, we only have to apply the undisputed widespread wisdom of leading people, right? We just have to lead our followers in such a way so that they feel valued, stretched and empowered.

But what sounds so easy is a tough endeavour indeed, particularly as many ‘designated’ leaders still focus more on the easier and better measurable management side of their role rather than on their leadership side.

Becoming more of a leader starts with authenticity and self-awareness. Therefore, please bear with me while I end this blog with a second quote, which is an even older one than the first one, but still highly valid in my mind. I leave it uncommented – intentionally:
"It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching." - St. Francis of Assisi.