Don't Forget Your Monkey: Growing Leaders, not Followers
A knock at the door draws your attention away from the task at hand. Standing there is a direct report, a teammate who is showing great promise and may one day sit in your chair as the leader of the school, district, or organization. They are here in your office because a problem has surfaced. Perhaps it is a complaint that must be addressed, an employee-relations matter, a student discipline situation, or a difficult decision that needs to be made. Whatever the issue, it feels like a monkey on their back. They have come to you because they need help. As caring leaders, our instinct is often to remove the monkey from their back. We want to free them from the burden, protect them from making a mistake, and take responsibility for resolving the issue ourselves. After a brief conversation, they leave your office feeling relieved. The monkey, however, remains behind. It is now sitting on your desk alongside all the monkeys that already belonged to you. Mark Cole, CEO of Maxwell Leadership,...
