I think this concept should be applied to more than just promotion. For a manager, it should be applied to compensation and/or bonus plans as well.

The difficult part of this would be in administrating this oversight. Gathering a measuring what growth is would be difficult especially the larger the organization.

But this balanced scorecard sort of approach would be far better than just measuring financial goals.

Thanks for the post, I wish more managers and upper managers had this outlook.
Jesse Boggess | Homepage | 07.19.06 - 9:24 am | #

Greenleaf's test is a great one. Sometimes I wonder about organizations that claim to be servant leader driven. Often times it seems when the test is applied to the products they produce that should be serving their customers, I don't see much potential for better health, wisdom, or autonomy as a result of using their product or their services.

Thanks Trevor for the reminder.
Tom Jablonski | 07.19.06 - 9:34 am | #

Thanks for this great blog - I love the subject matter and the insightful posts and responses.

I always struggle with the "reward" issue as it relates to growth. I love the idea of recognizing those people who take on the tough stuff of personal growth, but I wonder if reward power is the most effective way to recognize that.

Sure, we all want more money and more stuff, but if we're working and growing and learning with the money and the stuff as our target, we may be hitting the external mark, but missing the internal one.

I'm still struggling with this issue myself in my own "soul" proprietorship, but am beginning to understand that true servant leadership - at least in my life - gets to the real heart of service. As I give up the need to work for money and concentrate on building a more healthy relationship with money (I'm working to build a relationship not on numbers but on comfort - focusing on abundance rather than scarcity), I find that the money is more prevalent than ever, and I have more resources (time and money) to be able to serve where my heart calls me.

Thanks for recognizing the importance of individual growth on the effects of an organization. As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Jodee Bock | Homepage | 07.20.06 - 5:43 pm | #