I recently had the opportunity to attend a leadership summit put on by Willow Creek Church. While their emphasis was decidedly Christian in focus, Bill Hybels gave an excellent five point outline for developing leaders.
1. Give the employee you are training a High Challenge Opportunity/Job to do
2. Make the task short term – sort of a test-drive
3. Give them feedback along the way
4. Mentor them and guide them in the process
5. Provide them ongoing classroom and training opportunities.
He also used the phrase “figure it out and dont call me” as an example for allowing freedom and encouraging the self development. Perhaps our practices would work better if we stopped micro managing and allowed our future leaders and excellent employees to develop using some of the tips above.