Developing Others: Leadership Lessons From an Interoffice Envelope, a Photocopier and LinkedIn
I’ve always believed the best leaders don’t just manage the work – they develop the people. But I didn’t learn that from a course or a framework. I learned it from an interoffice envelope in 1998.
Back then, in the early days of my post-MBA career, I was fortunate to have a manager named Kevin. Yes, he cared about being a high-performing team and getting the work done — that was non-negotiable. But he was equally committed to developing the people around him. He invested in his direct reports, nudged us to think differently, and made growth part of the job, not an extracurricular activity.
What Kevin Did
Every month, when Kevin had read something interesting in Harvard Business Review or McKinsey Quarterly, he made copies and then put them in an interoffice envelope.
The instructions were simple:
- Read the article within a couple of days.
- Pass it on to the next person.
- And be ready to discuss it at our next staff meeting.
When the envelope reached my desk, I always felt a little spark of anticipation. What did Kevin find this time? A strategy piece? A leadership story? A case study from an industry I’d never considered?
That photocopied article wasn’t “professional development” – not in the corporate sense. It was something better: an invitation.
An invitation to think beyond my immediate workload. An invitation to challenge my assumptions. An invitation to hear perspectives different from my own. And, most importantly, an invitation to learn from the people I worked with.
By the time the envelope made its way through our team and back to Kevin, the article had gathered coffee stains, dog-eared corners, and margin notes – a physical record of reflection. And when we finally sat down to talk about it for twenty minutes in our staff meeting, the real development happened.
We asked each other:
What did we learn? How could we apply this to a challenge we’re facing? What would this look like in future scenarios? What would we do differently because of it?
There was no pressure to “get it right.” No performance. No office politics. Just thinking. Discussing. Listening.
Sharpening each other.
It was, without question, one of the most meaningful learning experiences of my early career. And it was led by a manager who understood something too many leaders still miss: developing others isn’t an event – it’s a habit.
It didn’t require a budget. It didn’t require a twelve-step model. It didn’t require a corporate learning portal.
It only required intention.
From Photocopies to Public Conversations
Fast forward years later, and I saw a modern version of Kevin’s leadership show up through a client – let’s call him John.
John also believed in developing people. But instead of photocopies and envelopes, he used LinkedIn. Every couple of week, he shared something he was reading – a research report, a leadership insight, a strategy post – and tagged each member of his team. John would then assign rotating members of his team to lead a short discussion during their staff meeting. They were responsible for reading the post, pulling out insights, and sharing how it applied to their work.
A simple system. But again – powerful. His team wasn’t just consuming content; they were connecting it, interpreting it, and teaching it.
And in the process, something else happened:
- Their digital presence grew.
- Their confidence grew.
- Their thinking grew.
- The quality of their conversations grew.
- And the visibility of their team – internally and externally – grew.
It was Kevin’s envelope, rebuilt for the 2020s. And yet the principles were exactly the same.
Why This Works
Developing others is not about knowing everything. It’s about creating an environment where learning is normal.
When leaders do what Kevin and John did, several things happen:
1. People start thinking beyond the urgent.
Most professionals live in a constant cycle of deliverables, meetings, and deadlines.
Curated content expands their field of vision.
2. Shared reading builds shared language.
Teams that read together communicate better. They reference frameworks, examples, and stories with ease.
This speeds up execution and decision-making.
3. Discussing ideas sharpens critical thinking.
It’s one thing to read an article.
It’s another to analyze, interpret, debate, and apply it.
4. Rotating who leads the discussion builds leadership skills.
Speaking. Facilitating. Synthesizing. Leading a conversation.
These small reps add up.
5. It builds psychological safety.
When the leader creates space for thinking and dialogue, people feel safer sharing ideas.
6. It develops everyone, not just the high performers.
You don’t need a special program.
You simply include the entire team.
7. In the digital era, it extends far beyond the room.
A single LinkedIn post can:
- attract candidates
- start industry conversations
- show a culture of learning
- elevate your team’s visibility
- position you as a thought leader
Leaders who do this aren’t just managing work. They’re building capability. They’re building culture. They’re building future leaders.
Developing Others in the Digital Age
Today, professional development doesn’t need to hide in an interoffice envelope.
It can be public. Visible. Shareable. Discussable.
A modern leader should:
- Share good ideas with their team.
- Encourage employees to follow smart thinkers.
- Comment publicly on insights.
- Highlight team contributions.
- Use LinkedIn as a “development lab.”
- Rotate who leads discussions.
- Help people articulate what they’re learning.
Because learning doesn’t just help people perform better. It helps them be seen – internally and externally.
And visibility has never mattered more.
The Leadership Challenge
If you’re a manager, a director, a VP, or a founder, here’s my challenge to you:
What is one article, post, or idea you can share with your team this week?
Not a mandatory training. Not a policy update. Not a corporate program.
Just something that made you think.
Then ask someone on the team to kick off a 10–15 minute discussion.
You’ll be surprised at what you learn. You’ll be surprised at what they see. And you’ll absolutely be surprised at how quickly people stretch when you give them the opportunity.
Developing others isn’t complicated. It’s consistent. It’s intentional. And it’s one of the most meaningful legacies a leader can leave.
Because people want to grow. And, often they’re just waiting for someone to share something interesting.
And as always —
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