Creating Leaders: Secrets from Simon Sinek and Chuck Blakeman

Chuck Blakeman, founder and Chief Transformation Officer of the Crankset Group, said in a recent TEDxMileHigh presentation, “The Industrial Age is over, but its dehumanizing culture and business practices still dominate the front office.” He continues by stating, “Great companies are giving everyone their brains back. Companies of every size are leaving behind the outdated management practices of the Industrial Age to grow exponentially faster with fewer employees. They’re doing it with a Participation Age culture.”

I straight up love this! I have tremendous respect for Chuck Blakeman. I also am a huge fan of best-selling author and TedX speaker extraordinaire, Simon Sinek. Both are awakening corporate America to the difference between managers and leaders and the emergence of The Participation Age. The concept of managers grew out of the Industrial Revolution where workers had to be told what to do then micro-managed to make certain they were doing what they were told correctly. 

Creating Leaders Isn’t For Sissies

Leaders, on the other hand, “engage” their people so each individual contributor takes ownership of their position and their successes. These leaders are “rehumanizing” the work place. Okay, some may call this the touchy-feely stuff. But as Simon Sinek says, “Leadership is hard work. Not the hard work of doing the job—it’s the hard work of learning to let go. It’s the hard work of training people, coaching people, believing in people and trusting people. Leadership is a human activity. And, unlike the job, leadership lasts beyond whatever happens during the workday. via When we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders.

A recent article in LinkedIn said, “Organizations know how important it is to have motivated, engaged employees, but most fail to hold managers accountable for making it happen.

When they don’t, the bottom line suffers.

Research from the University of California found that motivated employees were 31% more productive, had 37% higher sales, and were three times more creative than demotivated employees. They were also 87% less likely to quit, according to a Corporate Leadership Council study on over 50,000 people.

Gallup research shows that a mind-boggling 70% of an employee’s motivation is influenced by his or her manager.” via Bad Manager Mistakes That Make Good People Quit

So where is your firm? Do you seem to be clinging to the Industrial Age or are you heeding the warnings of research that points to the future success of entering the Participation Age? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience.