Collins’ explains it:“The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it….
The good-to-great leaders understood three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who,” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world….Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”
[audio:http://www.wunderlin.com/audio/changingtimes6.mp3]
So, the lesson here is to determine if you have the right people on the bus. If they are the wrong people, get them off. If they are the right people, but just need development, leave them on and coach them in a way that gets their performance up to great levels. Remember, coaching is both powerful and time-consuming. So, be intentional about what needs developing in an individual and then develop a plan that addresses those issues.