Leadership · Lesson 5 of 5

Helping other people grow

The best leaders leave people more capable than they found them, through stretch, feedback and belief in what they can become.

Free — no account needed to read

One of the most lasting things a leader can do is help others grow. Many people can name a teacher, manager, coach or older relative who saw something in them and helped them develop it. That influence often lasts far longer than any project.

Helping people grow involves giving them tasks a little beyond their current ability, with support. It means honest, specific feedback and genuine praise for effort and progress. It means asking about their goals and connecting them with opportunities and people.

It also means letting them take credit and, eventually, letting them outgrow you. A leader who needs to stay the most capable person in the room holds the group back. One who develops others multiplies what the group can do.

See it happen

Grace coaches a youth football team and always gives the most responsibility to the three strongest players, while the others rarely get a chance to lead.

The first reaction

Giving responsibility to the most skilled players makes sense, because they are the ones most likely to succeed with it.

With the idea

She starts rotating the captain role and asks each player what they want to get better at. A quiet player turns out to be an excellent organiser. The team becomes stronger because more players can lead.

What changed

She gave everyone a chance to stretch, instead of only developing the obvious talent.

Easy to take the wrong way

Helping others grow does not mean doing their work for them or protecting them from every difficulty. Some struggle is how people learn. Support is not the same as rescue.