Illustrating Leadership Lesson: Developing Your People

In this episode of Illustrating Leadership, I get to sit down and chat with Sharon Justice, People Strategist and Founder of Justice Leadership.

Sharon has spent her career on the people side of busines,  first in human resources for large financial services firms, then in the college classroom helping emerging professionals prepare for the workforce, and now through her consulting practice supporting small to mid-sized business leaders.

Her work centers on a truth many leaders eventually discover:

You may know how to run the business, sell the product, or deliver the service.

But the people side can still trip you up.

When I asked Sharon about a leader who shaped her, she shared about Vonda, a leader she worked with during her corporate career.

Sharon and Vonda approached the work very differently. Vonda brought an organizational psychology and design perspective, while Sharon brought a business, finance, metrics, and operations lens.

Instead of seeing those differences as a problem, Vonda recognized them as a strength.

Together, they made a better puzzle.

That lesson stayed with Sharon: strong teams are not built by making everyone the same. They are built by understanding the different perspectives, strengths, and experiences people bring...and then learning how to use those differences well.

Sharon also shared one of my favorite leadership phrases from this conversation:

Be a talent exporter, not a talent hoarder.

That is such an important reminder.

Leadership is not about keeping people small so they stay useful to us. Leadership is about growing people, developing people, and helping them become more capable, even when that means they may eventually move into new opportunities.

We also talked about the importance of clarity.

Sharon uses the metaphor of making toast: too often, leaders give instructions as if everyone is standing in their kitchen, using their toaster, making toast exactly the way they would.

But everyone comes from a different kitchen.

Different experiences.
Different assumptions.
Different ways of processing.
Different needs on different days.

That is why clear communication matters.

Leadership does not have to be as hard as we sometimes make it.

But it does require awareness, compassion, clarity, and a willingness to learn how to manage the people side with more intention.

Connect with Sharon

Make sure you connect with Sharon on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube! 

Sharon has also gifted Illustrating Leadership listeners the The CALG Leadership Gap Scorecard, which is designed to quickly show where your leadership system is breaking down across clarity, alignment, accountability, and growth.

It takes about two minutes and shows you exactly what to fix first. Grab your scorecard here! 

Connect with Jessica

Learn more about how your host supports leaders by visiting her website...and definitely send a connection request on LinkedIn and let her know you listened to this podcast!