The Ripple of the Week

Who Are You Developing?

Leadership is often measured by results.

Revenue. Growth. Performance. Goals achieved.

But during my conversation with Joe Atkinson, I was reminded that some of the most important results of leadership show up in people.

Joe spent more than 40 years rising through the ranks at Wells Fargo, eventually serving as a Regional President. Today, he works as an executive coach and advisor, helping leaders navigate growth, succession, and organizational development. At the heart of his work is a simple belief: great leaders don’t just build businesses. They build people.

Someone Has to See the Potential

One of the stories that stayed with me was about an employee who started as a bank teller and eventually became a CFO.

Think about the distance between those two roles.

Someone had to see potential before the title reflected it.

Someone had to provide opportunities, feedback, encouragement, and trust.

That is one of the most important responsibilities of leadership. We are not only managing the person standing in front of us today. We have an opportunity to help develop who they could become.

Managing People vs. Developing People

Management often focuses on today:

Did we hit the number?
Did the work get done?
Did the employee meet expectations?

Development looks further ahead.

What does this person need to learn next?

Where can they take on more responsibility?

What strength do I see in them that they may not recognize yet?

Joe and I talked about the difference between leaders who develop people and those who simply manage them.

For business owners, that difference matters.

If every decision still has to come through you and no one else is being prepared to lead, eventually the business hits a ceiling.

Developing people is part of growing the business.

Growth Is Not Always Comfortable

Joe also shared feedback a mentor once gave him:

“You hear a lot, but you don’t listen.”

It probably wasn’t easy to hear, but it became an important turning point.

Sometimes the conversations that help us grow the most are the ones that challenge how we see ourselves.

Great leaders care enough to give honest feedback, and strong developing leaders learn how to receive it.

The Ripple of Leadership

This is where leadership begins to ripple.

You invest in one person.

That person eventually leads others.

They begin developing people of their own.

Years later, your influence may be showing up in teams, careers, and organizations you will never personally see.

A title eventually goes away. A position eventually belongs to someone else.

But the people you developed can carry what you taught them much further than you ever could alone. That lasting impact was at the heart of my conversation with Joe.

This Week’s Ripple Question

Who on your team has more potential than their current role allows them to show, and what can you do this week to help develop it?

Maybe it is giving them a stretch assignment.

Maybe it is offering feedback they need to hear.

Maybe it is recognizing a strength they haven’t yet seen in themselves.

Or maybe it is simply asking:

“Where do you want to grow from here?”

Great leadership isn’t only about what you accomplish.

It’s also about what becomes possible in other people because you chose to invest in them.

That’s a ripple worth creating.

🎙️ Want to hear the full conversation?

Watch my conversation with Joe Atkinson on The Dona KAPP Show: Business, Life & The Ripple Effect.

Watch the Episode → Joe Atkinson | The Power of Great Leadership

Who you become amplifies the ripple you create. Go out and make yours a big, bold, and positive one!