The key to level 4 leadership is to foster personal development throughout your team

One key challenge all leaders face is today's ever-changing business-environment. What works now may no longer work next year, so attaining sustainable, long-term success is very challenging. What can you as a leader do about it?

Simple: remember that any company’s greatest resource is its people. After all, markets change, facilities deteriorate, supplies get used up, but people have the potential to grow and surpass themselves.

And that’s exactly why successful companies focus on improving their people – that is, giving them room to learn and grow.

In 1999, Fortune named Synovus Financial Corporation the best place to work in America. And looking back, the former CEO says that the award was only possible because the company always emphasized team-building and people development.

A true leader is like a mentor, and this is reflected in the next step of the leadership ladder; focusing on transforming the people around him, the leader will help them grow. To this end, people development is one of the most important aspects of leadership.

For example, the author observed that transformative leaders only put 20 percent of their effort in personal productivity; expending the other 80 percent on staff development. Meaning, great leaders put their own advancement far behind the broader goal of building a phenomenal team.

It’s important to note that personal development isn’t just good for the company; it’s also a major human need. Fulfilling it will give your employees a sense of loyalty to the company, reducing possible interest in seeking opportunities elsewhere.

As we’ve learned, people development is extremely important for the long-term success of an organization. And as a mentor, you have to find the balance between teaching your employees and empowering them to grow on their own.

As you’ll see in the next blink, that means you have to put some power in their hands.