Leadership: Do you build it or hire it?

I recently asked a couple hundred business managers if they prefer to train and raise up leaders from within their organization or hire it from the outside.

They held the common thought: "raise it from your own people."

There were a couple who went against the popular belief and shared some great insights.  Really the question is a wrong question.  It forces the respondent to think either/or.  In many cases I try to re-frame questions posed to me so I can think both/and.

A better question could be, "Why should we raise up leadership and hire outside leaders for our organization?"

Three Benefits of Raising up Leadership:

1.  They know your vision, values, and philosophies.

2.  It gives others hope for career development.

3.  I gives your leaders a sense of personal fulfillment.

Three Benefits of Hiring Leadership:

1.  You get fresh ideas injected into your organization.
2.  You receive the rewards of another companies leadership development efforts.
3.  You can get a leader ready to step into a high level of responsibility much faster.

Human development and recruiting are not mutually exclusive.  A great leader does both at the same time.  Constantly looking for ways to develop their people and constantly looking for new talent.