| The best leaders help others be their best.
They are excellent and intentional about developing those they lead.
There are many factors involved in developing others.
I want to share what I think to be one of the most important.
It is ‘calling out the gold in others’. This is simply paying attention to what someone does well, and simply telling them.
Story One: Connecting with people
Early this summer I was introduced to a head baseball coach. It didn’t take me 5 minutes on our first phone call to see and sense that he was really good with people. I felt drawn to him immediately.
After starting to work with this coach, I made the comment one day about how I think one of his super-powers is his people skills and his ability to connect with people.
Fast forward a couple of months and he said that the comment I made has impacted his confidence as well as the mindset he has in leading his team.
Story Two: Huge capacity
Another ‘call out the gold’ moments happened several years ago. I was doing some work with a coaching staff. We did an end-of-the-year 360′ review. A 360′ review forces you to think about what a person does well (and where he needs to get better).
During this review, one coach tells another coach “You have huge capacity. Your ability to do a lot of things really well is off the charts”
Much like the first coach, this coach was encouraged. But just as important as encouragement, it gave him a clear picture of who he is and what he brings to the staff.
Keys
There are a couple of keys to calling out the gold:
- Be a ‘noticer’: If you are not intentionally looking, you might miss the gold.
- Be intentional about calling it out: I am guessing some are instinctively aware of someone’s gold but never think to call it out in them.
- Recognize the power: There is unbelievable power in calling out the gold in another human being. I often hear stories of the impact that a coach/teacher/boss had by calling out the gold.
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