Happy New Year to one and all. Here’s to a great 2018.
Some of you may know that I design and deliver Leadership courses for organisations in industries such as Pharma, Financial Services, Tech, Hospitality, Property Services etc. On some of these Leadership training courses, I ask for a Senior Leader in the business to come and speak to the group about their Leadership journey. As I’m an avid learner, I like to record nuggets from these speeches / talks to hold onto and learn from. I mean how cool is it to be given the opportunity to hear from the Best in Class on a regular basis – my job thankfully allows me these opportunities.
Therefore, this month, I’d like to share with you one of the nuggets I’ve picked up from these Best in Class Leaders that will instantly make you a more effective Leader.
Be the leader you want to be led by. It sounds simple but if you ask yourself how you want to be led then you will actually come up with a fool-proof list that all Leaders should follow. So here’s how we want to be led:
a) Give me regular, meaningful feedback – no less than once a month but more regular if possible. I need to get to know you as my Leader and you need to get to know me as your follower. I need to know what you expect of me from my performance and I need to know what to expect from you as my Leader
b) Clarify my goals and the team’s goals – What is the purpose of the goals? How do they feed up to the overall strategy of the business? How will these goals be measured?
c) Share your goals and objectives with me and the team – then we’ll know what you are trying to achieve
d) Provide support to me when I need it and encourage me when I’m doubting myself
e) Show you care about me and my contribution to the team – a meaningful ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ will motivate and encourage me
f) Have my back and my team’s back – stand by us in times of change, difficulty and need. Stand up for us and we’ll happily stand by you
g) Be compassionate to me and the team – we’re human and sometimes have challenges inside and outside of work. A little compassion goes a long way
h) Walk your talk – don’t tell us it’s important we come in to work on time and then be late yourself
i) Be fair – don’t show favouritism to those team members you prefer by giving them the ‘special tasks’ or more time off
j) Show me and the team that you are human – talk to me and the team, get to know us. Take us all out as a team and have fun with us.
As always, I’d love to know how you get on with these.
Until next month.
