Prior to the turn of the last century, workers within an organization were managed as “job-centric” employees. Meaning, they were given a job and expected to do that job each and every day. There were not a lot of measurements in place, and therefore most workers were hired for their brawn more than their brains. Somewhere during the last 100 years, it was discovered that performance was a powerful tool to motivate employees.

Measure someone on their performance and you will gain increased performance and increased profitability. That philosophy still represents 99% of all methods of management.

So what’s next? Will we have another 100 years or 500 years of performance leadership?

I think not!

The next winners in business will be those leaders that learn a term I call gift-centric leadership. Gift-centric leadership is about building a business around the gifts of the team, as opposed to hoping their gifts somehow apply to their job.

The best way I can describe this is to share with you our philosophy at GiANT. During a retreat meeting with my partners about a year ago, we shifted our thinking away from what the business needs to succeed, to what we wanted out of life. I was amazed by the differences. Here are those stories:

One partner wanted to impact the world through his ability to touch the heart of other leaders. However, he was being held back because of the day-to-day duties of the division of the business of which he is responsible. As a gift-centric change, we hired a remarkable COO for his division, allowing him to focus on his gifts. The result: Growth, and a partner that is now changing leaders around the world.

One partner shared that his love was acquiring companies. The “gift-centric” change we made? The formation of a holdings company in which we are now acquiring companies. Not because it was necessarily strategic, but because it would leverage his gifts. The result: Numerous companies line-up as acquisition targets and the opportunity to grow at an exponential rate.

I, on the other hand, shared that my love was working one-on-one with CEOs and management teams. The gift-centric result: I continue to teach leaders how to say “no” and create focus so they can grow.  Now, the business is growing around me, without me losing my focus on my passions and my gifts.

I was so inspired by this “gift-centric” leadership concept, that we have extended it into our organization. Each person on our team has shared what their passions are and what their gifts are. We have intentionally started building new aspects of our business around those gifts. The specifics of what that means?

Mary: Her gifts are hospitality. We have intentionally built our office environment around Mary’s gifts of making each client and guest feel extra special. She loves catering to create the “wow” factor. The result: Gift-centric leadership has made Mary one of the most amazing contributors to our growth.

Leigh: Her gifts are visual design and the spirit she brings to those around her. She now manages our web sites, brand materials, and we make sure she is centrally located in the office because of her contagious, positive spirit. The result: Inspired branding, a fun place to work, and growth.

Andrew: His gifts are his heart for helping others, his analytical abilities, and his ability to sing opera (professionally). And yes, through gift-centric leadership, we have incorporated all of his gifts into our company. Plus, we applaud Andrew’s occasional departure to go perform at various operas around the country. The result: Watching Andrew flourish and be a real driver of our growth.

Brent: Brent is gifted with an engineer’s insight into leadership. Additionally, he has incredible speaking gifts and a great sense of humor. Our gift-centric leadership change for Brent is the soon to be launched online TV show (sort of a myth-busters approach to business) called “Exploring Stupid.” The result: Brent is driving new ideas into the business far beyond his original role.

Brant: Brant, our newest employee on the accounting side of our business, is only 23, but is already demonstrating some amazing skills. After several client events, we all noticed that Brant had an incredible ability to connect with clients. The gift-centric leadership change: Brant has been given the green light to pick and choose his own networking venues (The Chamber of Commerce, and various other business networks) to begin creating new client relationships.

These are only a few examples of how we have built GiANT centered around the gifts of the team.

The spirit and the growth of GiANT have taken on a new life… On top of what was already an amazing place to live and work.

In a larger organization, “gift-centric leadership” can also occur. It starts with having a servant’s heart as a leader. As a servant leader, one must care enough to study the gifts that an employee has, and in turn, work hard to match their gifts with jobs and opportunities that fit best.

Think about your team. What do you know about their gifts? Is there an opportunity to build your business around them?

By David Woods