One of the things that always sticks with me after serving down in Colombia is the power of pouring into the hungry. Who are the hungry?
They are people wanting to grow so they can improve the future of their lives and the lives of those around them. Whether it be the leader of a 2 person team or the point person on a national project - those that want to grow are fascinating to help. Not just because they are attentive - not so much at all because they are attentive. It's because they are "Retentive" and Ready.
The Retentive and Ready are the ones who react to what they receive and begin to implement. Certainly void of perfection, but validated by the need for them to lead. When you have these type of people, you have the human resources to mobilize that team and even as we are seeing; an entire nation.
While this excites me and blesses the concept of development, it also disturbs me, but not until I get back to our current environments of talent development. I can promise you that there are millions of people hungry to learn regardless of their class, color, upbringing etc. If you traveled to Colombia with me there would be a part of you to look at the audience and think "this does not appear to be a group full of eager leaders." That thought will remain just until the engagement begins and you notice the fervor of focus and interest in becoming better. You might certainly walk in to this group and say "these people look hungry for something." That is a sure thing that will stay with you. They are hungry for that better future that leaders are required to provide.
What happens to us today is we often get too focused on a narrow issue that we lose sight of the big picture of the people and when we do come up for air we decide to develop the people that "look" ready or are in a position that somehow makes them "ready."
There is a liability to this look and develop approach. We miss the jewels that are hungry and ready to learn. Because of this mine and your biz success is starving.
When you are looking to develop people, toss your nets out to a broader crowd. Be specific about reaching out to a group of staff that you would not have before. If you are uncomfortable approaching them, chances are they are the ones you need to approach.
How do we get them to be interested? You don't - they already are. You just have to ask them. Do some initial development to a voluntary audience. When they start to participate and absorb what you have to say, watch what they do with it. If they are hungry - they will honor what you are feeding them and your teams and biz's will get healthier as a result of this nourishment. When these same people show consistent interest - they are glowing in the dark.They might as well be jumping up and down with a sign above there heads that says "I am part of your better future."
Your investments during these times needs to be heavy with your time and not so much your treasure. Spend time pouring into the hungry now and watch your biz health improve when the wheel comes back around. You will need people to roll it fast. They are just under your nose waiting for some leadership lunch.
In the panic after the crash in oil prices in 2008, companies quickly scrapped oil projects around the world.
Posted by: cheap jordans | February 15, 2011 at 09:07 PM