I cannot claim this as an original idea. I was re-reading Tom Kelly’s outstanding book, The Art of Innovation, based on his experience with design and innovation firm, IDEO, and I was particularly enamored by the part where Kelly describes the process of IDEO's project teams picking their own leaders. The leaders serve at the discretion of the team. Hmmm. Maybe, just maybe, the rest of us have been going about this all wrong for all of these years.

It probably comes as no surprise that the primary excuse that many leaders cite for not focusing on important priorities like coaching, feedback and development is, “ lack of time.” I’ve heard this “excuse” over and over again in workshops and mentoring sessions. And while there’s little argument over the importance of engaging in these and other positive leadership behaviors, many individuals shrug their shoulders, admit guilt, express frustration over their inability to carve out time and cite administrative, transactional and span of control issues as impediments. What’s a harried, over-worked, time-stressed leader to do?

At some point in your career, either as an individual looking at your career path, or as a manager supporting the development of his/her team members, you will be faced with a decision on whether a leadership role is a good next step. As an individual responsible for your own career or as a manager responsible for the development of individuals on your team, why take the chance with such lousy odds, when you easily improve your success ratio by asking and answering seven simple questions?