I was stunned! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was listening to an interview with a senior executive when I heard her say it took 15 years to become a good manager. But that wasn't what really startled me. The big shock came a moment later when she said the big realization for her was when she began, "Really believing … that my success is linked to the success of my people."

Maybe that shouldn't have surprised me; after all, I know some leaders who never do have that realization. Too often people ascend to a leadership position with an eye on the perks and increased salary, rather than a consideration for increased service to the organization and subordinates placed in their care. They consistently fail to understand that the largest portion of the success formula is in the hands of people below them on the organizational chart.

There is a somewhat insidious problem that leads to this sort of revelation coming much later than it should. Leaders in more junior positions, those normally called managers, often don't get any training in managing the human resource. They struggle through the lower management ranks, and if they are somewhat successful, move up to more responsible positions. In some organizations, this is when they begin to receive the training they should have experienced years before.

It's only fair to mention that this executive came from a working background where she was responsible only for what herself and what she produced. When she became a manager, it was difficult to transition to understanding the synergy resulting from more than her own individual responsibilities.

It isn't all negative though. This executive now understands the importance of a development program that starts with managers at the beginning of their leadership career. Her company has an extensive development program and more importantly, understands that not everyone is coveting a management role. If people don't want to be leaders and managers, that's fine. If they don't seem to be cut out for the role, that's okay too. They can still have a productive future with the company.

Suppose this senior executive had received proper leadership training very early in her managerial career. The revelation that her people are what's important, had it come years earlier, would have allowed her to be the leader she is today, but much sooner. Think about how much more effective she would have been. Leading people is a continual learning process and we all make mistakes along the way. But, failing to understand a basic concept, like realizing that your people are more important than yourself, is an error that should never happen, or at least is a revelation that should occur very early in the leadership development process.

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