Koen Verhoeven

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It’s always important for a leader to have a goal, a vision and a strategy. And if the leader doesn’t have the right team, it will be difficult to achieve their goals. But one of the most important factors for a leader’s success is the ability to help others excel. No matter how capable a leader is, his or her employees are indispensable, and a leader must invest in them in order to develop and utilise their potential. Often there’s an imbalance between the time that leaders spend facing challenges themselves and the time spent helping others to face their challenges. One of the reasons for this is the leader’s confidence in themselves and their lack of it in others. The thing that stands in the way of that confidence is a lack of insight into (or perhaps a lack of interest in?) their employees, their qualities, motivations and ambitions, as well as a lack of scope (and time) for identifying and deploying these aspects.

Another suitable quote would be: “Leaders, know your people.” I try to encourage leaders to truly get to know their employees, after demonstrating to them why this matters. It enables leaders to stimulate employees in the right way at the right moment and for the right reasons, and to eliminate factors that limit development. Those who set a good example are capable of letting others excel, have the courage to leave things to others, know how to motivate, inspire and engage, arrange for their succession and create the conditions to lift themselves and others to higher levels. It’s a never-ending process that ensures that organisations continue to develop themselves and their leadership.