Develop Everyone & See Who Emerges

by | Sep 16, 2021 | Professional Development, Video

Developing everyone and seeing who emerges is a theme I’ve used at Service Express for a long time. This helps leaders assess their teams without playing favorites, overlooking talent or judging growth potential too quickly.  
 
Many times, we’ve thought someone had high growth potential, only to realize we were wrong once we got below the surface. These are usually the people who are more outgoing, outspoken, or extroverted. We tend to think highly of them early on and think of them for leadership positions sooner than we should. In doing this, I’ve seen us make mistakes. We can’t accurately evaluate potential if we overlook introverted people who spend more time listening and soaking in information. By developing that talent, we may find a hidden gem. I always encourage our leaders to take their time, develop everyone and see who emerges. Doing so helps you make better decisions in the long run and makes everyone feel a part of the team. Only developing a select few and ignoring the rest of the people does not create a cohesive team. Everyone needs to feel important and see their value. Every position has value, not just those seeking a promotion.  
 
Early in my career, I made the mistake of putting too much emphasis on leadership. I think this sent the message to some people that you better be on the leadership team, or you’ll get left behind. People started adding “become a leader” to their vision goals even though that’s not really what they wanted, they just didn’t want to get left behind. I now recognize that not everyone can, should or wants to be a leader. While growing companies must develop leaders and have one at all positions, you need all team levels to perform. You can’t have all leaders and no top performers. As Jim Collins said in his book, Good to Great, “Get the right people on the bus and in the right seat.” Let your people do what they do best.  
 
I was reminded to develop everyone and see who emerges a few days ago when I saw a tweet by Antonio Neri, President and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). He shared his career journey, and I learned that he started in HPE’s call center. That’s not typically where you’d think to find your next CEO, but I think that’s awesome! 
 
At Service Express, our people can continue their financial and professional journey without changing their position or becoming leaders. We have all kinds of different positions that have evolved as we’ve grown. Doing things differently and better is vital as we go forward. Not only should businesses develop everyone to see who emerges, but so should sports teams. If you pick the high-growth people are too soon, then you’ll end up with a very small team of people who feel valued and a bunch of other people who don’t feel valued. The result will be an increased turnover because they’ll lose interest and won’t feel valued. That’s a key mistake you don’t want to make. 
 
We give everyone the opportunity to show what they can do when they join Service Express; our people-powered team is built and led with talent. Take a deep look at your organization and ensure that everyone is valued and getting developed. Then wait and see who emerges. 

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About Me

I am the President & CEO of Service Express, a National Best & Brightest Company to Work For. Service Express has averaged double digit growth every year since 2001.

We attribute our success to a unique corporate culture that we call The Service Express Way. I am a member of the Young President Organization and sit on the Board of the Spectrum Health Foundation.