Adding Value
In 2000, Atlanta Braves star pitcher John Smoltz suffered a blow that could have ended his illustrious career. After battling various injuries for several seasons, he underwent ligament replacement surgery on the elbow of his throwing arm and missed the entire season.
Smoltz, who won the Cy Young award in 1996, returned the following year, but only started a few games before his arm began to bother him again. At that point, his coaches made a key decision. Seeing that his arm felt fine until the fifth or sixth inning, they decided to convert him to relief work, where he would only have to pitch one or two innings per game.
Although Smoltz resisted the change initially, the coaches’ plan worked. In his role as a closer in 2002, Smoltz set a National League record with 55 saves.
In an interview with Baseball Digest, Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone attributed Smoltz’s successful transformation to his pitching skills and his ability to “maintain his starter’s mentality as a closer.” But it goes deeper than that. Had the Braves coaching staff not recognized that Smoltz had the potential to become a great relief pitcher in the first place, he may have continued struggle in a starting role until his arm was too damaged to pitch at all. In stead, they encouraged him to try a new role, and their whole organization reaped the rewards.
That’s what great coaches–and great leaders–do. They add value to the lives of their players and employees, individually and collectively. They’re not just concerned about winning. They’re also interested in helping their people become all that they can be–whether they make their living pitching baseballs, fixing computers, selling insurance or waiting tables.
How are they able to do this? Let’s explore three key factors.
1. Great leaders possess the ability to see ability in others. They can look at employees who have not yet shown tremendous potential in a particular area and envision what they could become with a little guidance. As a result, they are willing to invest time and resources to help these employees develop. On the other hand, average leaders lack the ability to see ability in others. They see their people only as they are–they can’t see what they could become. So they miss out on many great opportunities to enhance their employees’ lives and careers.
2. Great leaders have the ability to help others discover their ability. It’s not enough to spot ability in others. You also have to convince them–either overtly or covertly–that they possess whatever talent you think you see. Such persuasion is an art, not a science. It’s not always easy to get people to broaden their horizons and think beyond their obvious skills and competencies. For example, when you look at your employees’ untapped ability, you see great possibilities for growth and development. But their fear of failure might interfere with their willingness to try something new. Your job as a leader, then, is to give him safe opportunities to discover those gifts and talents they might not realize they have. You don’t have to tell them this is what you’re doing; just give them assignments involving the ability you wish to highlight. Then, when they do well, point out the specific attribute that helped them succeed and encourage them to nurture it.
3. Great leaders have the ability to help others develop their ability. Years ago, I had a mentor named Les Stovey who was instrumental in my development as a writer. He could see I had a passion for writing, but he also recognized I had much room for improvement. He explained to me that, although I was a natural speaker, I wasn’t very good at communicating in writing. If I wanted to excel as a writer, he said, I had to keep the following question in mind at all times: “Will the reader turn the page?”
“People won’t walk out on you when you’re speaking because they would be embarrassed,” he said. “But if your book’s not any good, they’ll read 10 pages and put it aside. And not only will they not pick up your book again, they won’t buy your next one.”
For the next few years, Les Stovey coached me in my writing. He’d read what I’d written and then tell me why it didn’t work. But he didn’t stop there. He also helped me see what I could to improve–he showed me how to make my writing more compelling and effective. He added value to my life and my career because he had the ability to help me develop my ability. That, in a nutshell, is the essence of coaching.
This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell’s free monthly e-newsletter ‘Leadership Wired’ available at www.MaximumImpact.com. For more go to Custom Development Solutions.