Raising the Leaders Around You – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Leaders develop daily, not in a day. – John C. Maxwell

In a rare turn of events, a dinosaur museum has made a fascinating discovery under its parking lot. The museum is popular with dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages, with an array of dinosaur displays and skeletons. But what was unearthed in the museum’s own parking lot has left many captivated by the discovery.

It originated from a hole drilled more than 750 feet deep to investigate the geothermal heating potential for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The result? A fossil bone discovery.

With a bore of only a couple of inches wide, museum officials struggled to describe just how unlikely it was to hit a dinosaur, even in a region with a fair number of such fossils. 

“Finding a dinosaur bone is like hitting a hole in one from the moon. It’s like winning the Willy Wonka factory. It’s incredible, it’s super rare,” said James Hagadorn, the museum’s curator of geology. Only two other similar finds have been noted in bore hole samples anywhere in the world, not to mention the grounds of a dinosaur museum, according to museum officials.

The discovery of this rare dinosaur bone serves as a poignant reminder of what lies beneath the surface around you daily. As a leader, you have untapped potential all around you, leaders waiting to be developed. You have diamonds in the rough waiting for their chance to shine. 

Identifying and raising up leaders is an important process. Let’s take a look at a few steps for your consideration.

See the potential, not just the present.

When mentoring and raising up leaders, it’s essential not to evaluate a person solely based on what you see today, but also on where you envision them in a year, or five years. While there may be some noticeable areas of improvement you can identify, see that as your starting point to build upon; don’t prejudge too quickly.

Potential can be measured in various ways, including current work ethic, dependability, curiosity, instincts, and the individual’s teachability. When you have these basics as starting points to work with, the possibilities for growth are there; they just need to be steered in the right direction. 

Give them the reins, not just the manual.

Empowerment is a crucial component of developing emerging leaders. What these leaders need is not a memorization of the manual or rulebook, but rather a playbook to guide their leadership. Click To TweetA leader will shine, produce, and grow in their potential not because they memorized the policy manual, but because they were empowered to create, take risks, fail, and re-emerge wiser and stronger on the other side. 

The goal here is not to create leaders in your image, but to help them discover their leadership identity and find their voice. This can only happen when they are empowered to take the reins.

Be an open book, not a closed door.

When it comes to leading down and developing the emerging leaders around you, you must be an open book to them, not a closed door. You want to facilitate their growth and development, not impede it. You want to be a positive influence through your engagement, vulnerability, and example.

You can’t expect to develop and lead those around you without demonstrating that you, too, are coachable, that you are committed to a growth plan and not just coasting, and that you are a leader worth emulating. 

I would like to encourage you to look beneath the surface of those around you. Where are the hidden gems in your organization that are just waiting for their opportunity to shine? It’s time to raise them up.

©2025 Doug Dickerson