Can A Chicken Identify an Eagle?

It takes a good person to identify another good person.
It takes a great person to identify another great person.
But it takes a humble person to identify an incredible person.

Quite often that we meet some empty vessels which tend to makes the most noise wanting spotlights, recognitions & credits while practically doing not much & riding on the sub-ordinate's success. And sometimes it is a mystery to me that such categories of people are placed nearly on top of an organization, ruining it than running it!

When people go for job interviews, most of the time, interviewer over-emphasizes the knowledge & experience of someone in a particular field or the specialized knowledge which they generally perceived as the only important focus in someone's career.
Wait a minute...what about their initiative, commitment, attention to details, ability to strategize, good connections, communicate with respect, resourcefulness, team spirit, responsibilities, integrity....etc?
Aren't those attributes build a stronger foundation for someone to be able to grow the company in the long run?

The question is "Can A Chicken Identify an Eagle? Or an Eaglet?"
It takes someone from a great height to be able to see the potential of another person reaching a greater heights! That is a People-Builder, a Developer & an Enabler!

It is sad to see a company functioning as a Juice Extractor of talented people where fresh employees are full with brain-nutrients & attitude-minerals are being squeezed until the passion & commitment are dehydrated in the name of growth & bad management!

Eventually, it is okay for a local "Watermelon" like us to leave as imported talents such as "Apple" or "Orange" can replace us. Then the process of extraction begins again....
That's why we are seeing local "Watermelons" or "Durians" being exported out as they find more values in other countries.

In a nutshell, it is important to find an Eaglet, invest & build the Eaglet into an Eagle. Then train the Eagle to look for other Eagles to grow together. Sometimes an Eaglet may come in a form of pigeon or turkey for us to discover that they are true Eagles in the making, with hidden wings & sharp claws!

The talent is out there....

Is A Manager, A Leader Too?

Conventionally, a company or an organisation put emphasis on a career ladder to potential employees which leads to higher position & eventually or hopefully to the top! But I've found out promoting a wrong person holding a wrong position makes it even harder for a company to gel people together & eventually can't get things done through the right delegation. As rapport needs to be build & respect needs to be earned before the results set in. People must be positioned according to their strengths or talents instead of knowledge & experience alone, which most of the companies are practising now.

Some people are really good in execution but poor in delegation or leadership.
Some people are good in strategising but poor in execution or deadlines.
The best are those that can flip in between both attributes.
If an organization builds a team based on bringing out the best potential a person got to offer, people will have auto-drive & passion in their work. Eventually, they felt a sense of achievement & a sense of belonging to the company.

Sometimes promotion doesn't depend on the number of years that an employee served. To honour an employee's loyalty, he or she can get the salary of a manager without being one. Why not?

A manager is not necessarily a leader & vice versa.

A Manager is based on position while a Leader is based on influence.
A Manager uses authority while a Leader uses inspiration.
A Manager practises upward management while a Leader practises downward appreciation.
A Manager takes credit while a Leader gives credit.
A Manager always says I and You while a Leader says We.
A Manager focuses on performance & tasks while a Leader focuses on performance & people.
A Manager uses science to manage while a Leader uses Art to lead.
A Manager corrects & commands while a Leader correct & compliments.
A Manager suffers from insecurity complex while a Leader have inner self confidence.
A Manager is egoistic while a Leader is compassionate.
A Manager improve someone's weakness while a Leader capitalizes on someone's strengths.
A Manager wants to be a Star while a Leader wants to be a teamplayer.
A Manager hungry for reputation while a Leader is full of character.

Anyway, these are the qualities of managers & leaders that I can think of relating to my previous careers. What I mean referring to Manager, can be of a higher ranking as well, such as MD, CEO, COO, GM or whatever it is. I personally feel title will destroy & blindfold personal growth if it is being overly honoured. Sometimes we have to be a good follower before becoming a great leader.
The worst scenario is a founder of a company that develop the same mindset when starting a business as compared to growing a business. It is really dangerous when they don't know what they don't know.

Starting a business is about micro-managing everything. Growing a business is about building teams & delegation.
Starting a business is about profit & cashflow. Growing a business is about building vision, mission & values.
Starting a business is about firefighting. Growing a business is about strategising.

When a business started to dilute on product quality, consistency, cultures, consumer's confidence or partner's trust, it is even more expensive in a later stage to revive. And it certainly needs strong & committed leadership to make a turnaround.

Basically, Leaders can be found in all level of an organization. We just need to uncover some dirts, clean it up, to discover the gem!
Don't be mistaken that leaders are the one which makes the most noise or usually an outgoing person. Not necessarily.

In summary, Managers are everywhere. But Leaders are rare.
Treasure them & let's grow to be one...