Do People Transform or Form into Leaders?

Over the holiday break I was able to spend some time reading a couple of books. One of the books, Open, Andre Agassi’s autobiography was given to me as a gift by my sister. Many of you might have heard the uproar about his book since he admitted to using recreational drugs during his professional tennis career. At first, I was surprised and shocked at the news. After further thought, I don’t hold it against him. I actually respect him even more for having the guts to admit it.

After reading Andre’s book, it made me think of that old saying. The one that goes, “The truth will hurt, but it will set you free in the end”. Now, I’m not perfect and of course like anyone I have my share of demons. I don’t plan to write a book about them either. Even if I did, who would read it? Maybe one of my next door neighbors since they don’t really know too much about me. I know my wife and close friends wouldn’t read it because they already know my demons. If they don’t know them and are curious, they could just ask.

A take away from Andre’s book that I believe can apply to developing people in organizations is his view on transformations. In his book, he challenges the conventional wisdom about transformation. Transformation is changing from one thing to another. In Andre’s case, he did not transform, he formed. He started with nothing and formed into a mature athlete, businessman, and father.

In my company we put forth a lot of effort to change people’s behavior so they can transform into something different. New and current employees that start new positions will make attempts to form into leaders or succeed in a new career. In my observations, usually after about 90 days, either the employee or manager stops by my office to discuss how they want to see a change. If the new employee is lucky to have a straight forward manager, they receive regular feedback to improve their performance. Sometimes the new employee rebels at the feedback and sometimes they listen. This can be a problem when the manager is quick to label the employee before they have a chance to form. Quick labels like, “fails to see the big picture” or “lacks collaboration skills” can ruin an employee’s career. It’s like judging a tennis match before it is over. In tennis, there is no clock to win a point. A tennis rally is not over until the ball is hit out, missed, or hit into the net. Similarly, in organizations employees need time to form into leaders. Managers need to observe an employee’s performance and not judge it too soon or wait until it’s too late (i.e., at the end of the year performance appraisal). They should not label the employee after 90 or 180 days. Rather, give the employee regular and specific feedback and let them form.

Have you ever experienced this type of people development in your company? Do you have an example of how to best develop people into leaders?