Cascading Leadership Series – The Next Step: Closing Thoughts on Cascading Leadership

We did it! We’re closing out the Cascading Leadership Series today and moving on to the Company Talent Series next week. Before we move on, I have some final thoughts that I hope will stick with you moving forward.

Make the Investment in Shared Success

Remember, A leader’s job is to look at their people and ask:

 “How can I enrich them?” 

“How could I better prepare my team to succeed in their jobs and lives?” 

A good leader adds value to the people they manage. We encourage our leaders to know their team and learn about their families, hobbies, and homes. (We love to help people make down payments on houses! We invest in our employees because they want to invest in us.) You have a superpower if you can help somebody else move up in the world. 

Cascading leadership requires comprehending the extent of responsibilities both at higher ranks above and subordinate levels below you. It involves successfully promoting people through the system by letting them be recognized for each achievement and for their ability to communicate up and down the chain of command. 

As the leader, cascade your leadership throughout your organization. Soak it all! It is gratifying when there are good leaders at every level, and it virtually ensures success. I always say it’s better to win as a team than to win by yourself. The camaraderie of shared success is one of the greatest feelings you can have in business. 

I’ve outlined how we cascade leadership at Nolan Painting—what does your company need to take it to the next level? 

Possible next steps:

• Build or update your org chart. 
• Write or update job descriptions, manuals, and training for your people. 
• Use published values to determine a good “behavioral fit” for your company. 
• Develop an ongoing training program.
• Establish career paths for your employees. 
• Build a top talent-management team. 
• Practice giving feedback.

Pick one thing your company needs and start implementing—building muscle takes time. You can do it!