Trellis Usher (www.TRE-Group.com) offers her thoughts on what makes a great leader

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders not more followers."  Ralph Nader

Great leaders beget other great leaders.  One of the core competencies that you will find in most leadership competency models has something to do with developing other leaders as well as creating high performing teams.  All too often, when things aren't going in that direction, it becomes easier to look for subordinates to throw under the proverbial "bus" rather than step up ones' leadership game.  I can't tell you how many organizations I've been apart of that reward this very behavior.  Now I'm all for employee's taking accountability for their own performance or lack of performance but as a person who has worked most of my career helping to uncover barriers to peak performance, I know that it's rarely just one thing.

The question begging to be addressed is how can an employee who was once a star performer (under one leader) now be fledgling under another leader?  I hear your defenses going up! The first thing most of us want to say, especially if we feel slightly convicted because we know that our own leadership may be questionable, is that "my expectations are higher.  That other person didn't really know what they were doing."  That could be partly true.  But I'd suggest that being a great leader is less about technical competence in a particular discipline and more about how you motivate, inspire, coach and develop others to be their best.  Even if a former leader was not as smart as you are but he or she was able to inspire commitment and hard work from members of the team then you could stand to learn a few things.

As hard as we try, we can't separate the effectiveness of a leader from the performance of those he leads.  They are interwoven.  The measuring stick for what defines a good leader has to include his or her ability to successfully develop the next group of leaders.  Throwing people under the bus or off the boat is rarely the answer.  Not only might it be a missed opportunity for you as a leader but those that remain will find it difficult to be loyal to a leader who holds this philosophy.  Those that we find most difficult to lead probably are offering us the greatest gift in our leadership journey.  Don't miss the gift!

As a leader what lessons have you learned from employees that you found difficult to lead or manage?

Corporate Functions Need Strong Business Partnering Skills

As I consult with leaders of corporate or enabling business functions, there continue to be a few recurring themes -- "we want and need a seat and a voice at the table and for our operational peers to see us as strong business partners and not just a pair of hands." The other thing I consistently hear from CIO's, CHRO's and CFO's is that their leaders need to see themselves as "business" leaders who happen to also have deep specialization in IT, HR or Finance.

This is the age-old question of generalist or specialist. The answer depends on what's going on in your organization. For example you might decide to build broad internal expertise around functional domains and outsource or insource the highly specialized areas (leadership programs, instructional design, payroll and benefits administration, contract/legal reviews, annual report creation, etc.).

As a person who has spent most of my career as a specialist, I'm hired specifically for my subject-matter expertise. The clients that I work with count on my ability to quickly understand their unique challenges and apply highly specialized practices and processes to help them achieve their goals. Those interactions helped me realize that I was learning as much as I was teaching. I set a goal to ensure that I learned at least two new facts about their specific area of the business. I scheduled "ride-alongs" or shadow days so that I could get a sense of what the leaders typical day involved and ask questions.

My point is that functional specialists have to be first in line with a desire to broaden their skills. We must see each interaction with our business partners as an opportunity to learn and build business acumen. As you do, you'll find that your seat at the table becomes "Reserved".

The criticality of vision and execution

I, like many others, am struck at the coming together of President-Elect Barack Obama's cabinet members. I start each day reading the latest blogs, vlogs and online articles to find out who he has named and for which post. The observation that many pundits have made regarding his decision to select very experienced "insiders" for key positions is one that bears further investigation.

Since most of my time is spent in the world of leadership development and helping organizations establish high performing teams, I'm all over these cabinet appointments! Obama is doing exactly what I advise organizations and executives to do..."staff your weaknesses". As a leader not only do you have to have a clue about your strengths, you also need to be keenly aware of your weaknesses. It's ridiculous to think that Barack Obama possesses all of the intelligence, insight, temperance, fight, good judgment and wisdom to run this country alone. It's just as ridiculous to assume that our corporate leaders can do their jobs alone. What President-Elect Obama and successful executives have figured out is that you need to put competent people around you with diverse perspectives and who are committed to execute your vision. A cold, hard fact of establishing a team like this also means that sometimes the most qualified person to serve beside you may not be your biggest fan. Great leaders have to be willing to check their egos at the door for the sake of getting the job done. Even if your "rivals" occassionally make your job a bit frustrating, that's the price of sitting in the big chair. You're the leader....LEAD!

In an interview that aired on CNN over the weekend, Obama was asked if he was concerned that appointing so many Washington insiders after he campaigned and won on a platform of change might be seen as hypocritical? He replied that he chose experienced people who he believes will be able to execute but that the changes in vision and the direction the company must go in will come from him. In leadership both vision and the ability to execute are critically important. This is sure to be an interesting study in contemporary leadership principles. I can't wait to see how the next four years unfold!

"He that thinks himself a leader but has no one following him is simply taking a long walk." John C. Maxwell