When I was relatively new in my career I had exposure to some solid leaders that I respected immensely. In fact, I learned a lot from them.

Now, I’m not sure if that was because I was a lot more coachable back in the day. And maybe today I’m more of a skeptic. But I rarely find many leaders that I care to follow.

But I digress…

I was working for a transportation company right out of college. Many of the folks that worked there were similar to me.

They were all underachievers. Let me define that term…

What I mean by “underachiever” is that we had all the talent to do whatever we wanted to do but we never really exploited this ability.

As a result, we fell into a job that we all had more smarts than the job required. Soon this would be a problem for me. I started getting serious but I received some really valuable leadership advice while I was there.

One of the key pieces of information that I glean from the three year experience, was to be a great leader, you had to make sure that you always let your employees shine.

In reality, the glory will splash on you too just for being their boss. Many people in leadership positions don’t understand this concept. And feel that they need to take credit for what others have done so they can get ahead.

This is despicable.

…and anybody conducting themselves in this manner should not be in a leadership role. So, if you do this STOP now.

The damage by stealing the thunder of others is enormous and really not necessary. I mentioned this before, you’ll get splashed with recognition for being the boss, so there isn’t any reason for being a thief.

On the other hand, if you conduct yourself with this positive approach you’ll become respected and somebody that others want to follow. Your boss will notice too (if they are worth anything.)

Remember you have to earn the right to lead.

Greg Meares is a leadership and performance management consultant. He often publishes leadership development related articles on his acclaimed blogs, http://www.callcenterbestpractices.com and http://www.righttolead.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Let-Your-People-Shine&id=479430] Let Your People Shine