By
Gunnery Sergeant Darnell E. Patton, USMC
There are many great leaders who lead things
from small businesses to large countries. Each of
those leaders had to start somewhere. Leadership
starts at different stages for different people;
some start learning as a small child while others
may not start until adulthood. But regardless of
when they start, its how they get there and where
they finish that matters.
Leaders are ultimately responsible for
developing the leaders of tomorrow. Leaders cannot
be too consumed with themselves; they should be
consumed with the organization and the
subordinates. The leaders will guide their
organization through today, but the subordinates
will guide them though tomorrow, and if leaders
don’t properly train their subordinates, it will
ultimately lead to demise.
Just because people are in leadership
positions doesn’t make them leaders. People are
often placed into leadership positions well before
they are ready to lead. But regardless, people
will still look to them as their leader and expect
them to lead them in the right direction. Take Eli
Manning of the New York Giants for instance, who
entered the NFL in 2004, but didn’t become a
leader until 2007. He was placed in the key
leadership position for the football team well
before he was ready. The problem in his situation
is that he didn’t have a chance to develop before
he started to lead. His development started with
“on the job training.” He spent the first 3 years
of his career learning, fighting adversity, and
trying to find himself, all while he was being
further developed as a leader and learning how to
lead. Furthermore, he lost some of his supporting
cast around him to help guide him in the right
direction. Instead of supporting him, they grew
impatient and ridiculed him. With all the stress
placed on him, he never quit; he kept learning.
Finally in mid season of 2007, everything that he
learned came together. He stood up and took his
place as the leader of the New York Giants
There are many ways leaders can develop
subordinates’ leadership and show them how to
lead. First and foremost, leaders must lead by
their own example and give subordinates something
to follow, because subordinates often times become
a reflection of their leaders. They try and
emulate and follow in their leaders’ footsteps. If
leaders fail to properly set a good example for
their subordinates, one of two things can happen.
Their subordinates will become just like them and
set a bad example. Or, their subordinates will not
want to be like them. They just learned what not
to do as a leader, which could result in them
losing respect for their leaders.
To further develop subordinates, leaders must
be approachable. Subordinates should be
comfortable enough to be able to communicate with
their leaders about anything. This is a major key
to their success. This will help build trust and
confidence on both sides. Once established, your
relationship will continue to grow professionally,
which will make them more receptive to their
development and eager to learn.
Leaders have to teach them what they need to
do without showing them how all the time. By just
teaching them, you are allowing them to think and
come up with their own ideas by exercising their
mind, which will result in them utilizing
initiative and judgment. Keep in mind, everyone
doesn’t process things the same, so some
subordinates will need more guidance, and require
more attention and patience.
Leaders must be able to provide constructive
criticism and twist it up and end on a positive
note. When there are initiative and judgment
errors, it is still the leaders’ job and
responsibility to correct those errors and guide
them in the right direction. However, leaders must
not cause discouragement, because subordinates may
develop confidence issues and no longer want to
excel. Help them understand that all leaders make
mistakes, but it’s what they learn and how they
recover from them that matters.
Subordinates must be held accountable for
their actions. Subordinates must also understand
that it goes far beyond that. They are not just
responsible for their actions but the actions of
those they lead. Take Brett Favre for instance,
the former quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.
When his team would lose, it was him, the
quarterback, who took the responsibility because
he was the leader of the team. It was ultimately
his responsibility to teach, guide, mentor, and
motivate while leading the team to success. After
a loss, he would watch and analyze the entire
game, the players, and the plays to come up with a
solution to help prevent it from happening again.
He would always try and find ethical ways to reach
success. And after 17 years in the NFL, he only
got better. That is passion. That is dedication.
That is the job of a leader!
These are just a few things leaders can do to
develop subordinate leaders. Leaders shouldn’t be
afraid to do further research to educate
themselves as well as their subordinates. No
matter how good of a leader someone maybe, they
should train their subordinates to be better. If
they developed them properly, their legacy will
live through them. And regardless if they chose to
develop them or not, were they stand today is
where their subordinates will stand tomorrow.
About the Author
Darnell E. Patton is currently an active duty
Marine. He has held many management and leadership
positions, to include an infantry platoon
sergeant, the legendary Marine Drill Instructor
and Drill Instructor, Instructor. He has a BS in
Management, a BS in Finance, and his MBA with
specialization in Human Resources. He can be
reached at darnell.patton@usmc.mil
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