Leadership bench strength is not about succession planning. It is about building cadre of leaders below you who can step up, take initiative, and make a difference.
Creating leadership bench strength
Tharani, the founder of a fast-growing AI healthcare community, had the vision but couldn’t execute it alone. Her challenge? Inspiring people to go beyond the minimum.
She believed the entire community would rally behind her new plans. She hosted an open forum, unveiling bold ideas. The response was lukewarm. No contributors stepped forward.
Frustrated, she told her coach, “I am trying hard to motivate my community. But I feel I am constantly failing.”
The coach replied, “Maybe you don’t need to motivate everyone. What if you focus on a few?”
Tharani’s inner blocker was the belief that leadership is one person’s job.
Tharani reflected. Out of 100 community members, maybe three truly understood her vision. She knew their values and agendas and could get them to volunteer and take up initiatives.
She approached them directly. Her ask was simple: Be entrepreneurial. Move fast. Make decisions. Initially, they resisted. However, she persisted. Things came around. They felt empowered. Soon, they carried their message downward, and many more volunteered for the project.
To Tharani’s delight, twenty people joined the project. Those three had sparked a chain reaction. This is leadership bench strength in action. It is not about titles. It is about people who emerge as leaders—those who show initiative, bring energy, and motivate others.
An organization’s resilience depends on this bench. When leadership is distributed, momentum multiplies. By focusing on a few, you create many. Leadership spreads when it’s shared.
For your reflection
- How has your leadership contributed to building your bench strength?
- What inner belief might be holding you back from creating one?
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson