Red, Yellow, Green Leaders

The older and more experienced we get doesn't by itself make us better leaders. Forbes Magazine evaluated more than 65,000 leaders on 60 leadership behaviors that differentiate great leaders from poor leaders. They found that an increase in leadership effectiveness doesn't grow as leaders age. The results actually show a steady decline.

Great leaders are life long learners who learn from books, articles, magazines, and other methods that help them grow in, not only knowledge, but in the ability to take new actions, and to demonstrate and teach others. Leadership isn't just gaining knowledge and spewing to others what you know. Others need to hear it and see it. It comes from our actions, behaviors, and the things we do much more than things we know.

One day the company I was leading had a meeting with a manufacturer who needed some help in developing a training program for their machinists and engineers. They asked if we could help. Since I didn't have the knowledge or the know how to do what they wanted I brought our mechanical engineer to the meeting. What seemed like a good idea turned out to be a disaster. Our engineer could talk about theory all day with other engineers. It wasn't until one of the theories had to be brought to life did we learn this principle. The company leaning on us, as the experts, asked our engineer to go to the board and draw how that theory would actually pan out in the real world. But before they asked him to do that they first asked the question, "are you familiar with this process", he said, "Yes". Then he was asked to show them how it would work in their environment. The unfortunate thing for us, he couldn't demonstrate the knowledge that he could verbalize. We lost credibility and a customer. This is true with any endeavor we undertake and is especially true in leadership.

Before you take on the task of leadership development you will want to identify what a Red Light, Yellow Light, and Green Light Leader is;

1. Red Light Leader is : a person new to leadership or one who needs a lot of work to become a better leader. In plain words, this is a poor leader or one who has a position of leadership without the ability to demonstrate the leadership skills needed for the position.

2. Yellow Light Leader is: a person who asks the right questions but not enough questions. They will provide the necessary tools but not offer the proper amount of training. In addition, they will provide goals to the team and be the one who drives the team.

3. Green Light Leader is: a person who will teach and train those who are led by him/her to work together and brainstorm to find their own solutions. They include the team in the problem solving process and include the team in the development of the vision, mission, and core values of the organization. They will develop and equip others on the team to be able to drive the process.

There isn't one set of criterion to establish your own Red, Yellow, and Green Light Leadership Development training process. But it is important to include your team, and to determine what success looks like for you and your own Leadership Training Process. What does a Red Light Leader look like in your company or organization? What does a Yellow Light and a Green Light Leader look like? Determining what it looks like to be a Red, Yellow, and Green Light Leader becomes a visual learning tool for everyone to see and even self determine where they are on this continuum of development and growth. It is a great tool to visualize and see at all times how someone is doing. The need for a yearly evaluation is eliminated as far as it is to determine the level of leadership going on in the workplace.

Don't assume that time served is the determining factor behind who a leader is or isn't. First, seek out people from all levels of your company and let them help you determine what it looks like to be a poor(red light) leader, a good leader(yellow light), and a great leader(green light).

If you would like to discuss this further please contact us at dgphillip15@dgpandassociates or call (419)863-3017.