Is Your Bench Deep?

In sports, it’s not about how many superstars you have on a team, but how deep your bench is.

Here’s the meaning behind that statement: surround yourself with more talent, not less.

Seems like a no-brainer, but the reason why it’s rare at companies is:

Ego.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

When a leader is threatened by talent because of their own insecurity and fear, they tend to only recruit yes-men (and women).

If you observe teams where the leader is never wrong or challenged, that’s a huge red flag 🚩 

• I’m not saying seek out disrespectful co-workers.

• I am saying seek opposing opinions that only sharpen your leadership perspective.

So how does this go wrong?

A lack of accountability.

It can be prevented with a board of directors, but mostly it takes a leader who is self-aware enough to desire accountability.

This is why great leaders are rare (well, one of the many reasons).

You may be wondering why this is a topic for managers…

Because leadership is about development and succession.

That means raising up leaders to be better than you, even to the point where you may have to leave to get out of their way.

The thought can give you anxiety, but hear me out.

• Insecure and fear-based leaders are out for themselves (no matter what they say publicly).

• Servant leaders are primarily there for the development of the people.

Two very different missions.

I’m sure you’ve experienced the former, aka the micromanager.

Yet the latter one may seem like a folk tale (sad, but true).

But right now I’m not focusing on your leader(s), I’m looking at you.

“Be the leader you wish you had.”

In my career, I’ve had more bad examples of leaders than good ones, but that’s helped me tremendously.

You know how they say in marketing what works is fear over rewards?

It translates well towards leadership examples too.

By poor examples, you know what to avoid.

Most bad leaders learn behaviors from watching someone else.

But that doesn’t need to be you.

You can put an end to the generational curse at work.

Having a deep bench means being humble enough to know you need help.

That’s not a weakness, it’s a strength.

If you’ve heard the term “leadership tree” before; it acts like a multiplying force.

Remember factor trees in math class?

Same visual. A good leader multiplies their impact by developing new leaders.

Listen to a great leader gush about the people who helped him or her get to where they are now.

That means they were smart enough to know they needed help from others along the way.

Mentors, mastermind groups, accountability partners, etc.

Strong leaders seek other strong leaders to surround themselves with.

Egos only shrink through humility.

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

Can we agree that impactful leaders make us feel valued because of their deep care for others?

So this is my encouragement to you: find leaders to learn from and connect with them.

Don’t be a fear-based leader that scares talent away.

Create a deep bench of people around you that raises the level of the team as a whole.

Need help implementing this strategy? Reach out here.

God Bless,

Scott

If you found this helpful and you’re looking to improve your soft skills as a leader, here are ways to work with me directly:

• 🗣 Hire me to speak at your company or next event (watch my speaking reel here)

• 🎤 Invite me to lead an interactive training workshop, remotely or in-person (depending on location)

• 🤝 Start 1:1 coaching with me as a new manager, current leader or executive (I once managed 30 people 1:1 weekly❗️)

Also, you can help me out by forwarding this to friends whom would benefit from it! Thank you!