We recently had a guest speaker come give leadership training to a select group of supervisors. I had heard him speak before but used this opportunity to make some notes on the thoughts that sprang up while I was listening to him speak. Some of his content was useful while some of it seemed cliché. I am pleased that I did not waste the opportunity by having a bad attitude over being “forced” to participate in training that I had already experienced. Here is the list:
1. Cultivate your organization so that you have more qualified people than available positions
Sometimes I fall into the trap of believing that no one else is capable of doing what I can do. This also translates to a belief that there are no good candidates for promotion. If an organization is being run properly, there are clear expectations and a clear path to meet those expectations. It is my job, and the job of other leaders in the organization, to mentor individuals and assist them in their journey towards increased competence.
2. It doesn’t matter how good I am at my job; it only matters what my attitude is at my job.
This principle can easily be misconstrued to the extent that everyone in the organization should be a mindless cheerleader. A balance must be maintained, but the usual error is due to someone thinking that they are so valuable to the organization that their attitude is irrelevant. A poor attitude can make someone irrelevant even though they are a knowledgeable member of the team.
3. Listen to your people, don’t push them away and force them to confide in someone else.
I am amazed at how often I find my mind wandering while talking to a co-worker. Listening to somebody talk about seemingly irrelevant topics is the easiest way to show that you are interested in their life. If I am constantly giving the impression that I am not interested, then those people will stop telling me what they are thinking about. I would much rather have my subordinates/teammates talking to me about what is on their mind rather than confiding in somebody else.
4. Leadership goal should be for my subordinate to take ownership of their problems and come up with a solution on their own.
As a leader I do not want my people to avoid making a decision until they have gotten my opinion. I would rather have my people coming up with their own solutions. Most of the time the solution that is presented will be as good, or better than, a solution that I might propose. In those rare cases when a truly atrocious plan is conceived, I can give advice to help that person see where the mistake was made rather than constantly overrule their decisions.
5. Am I being the kind of leader that I want to follow?
This is a simple self-test to see if I am making a correct leadership decision. While there is often more analysis than this that needs to be done, this can be an easy first step. If I can take enough time to consider this one option, I will usually realize the right path to take.
6. Good leaders aren’t afraid to admit mistakes and apologize for failures of leadership.
This point is self-explanatory, but it dovetails nicely with another point that was mentioned. The trainer was discussing the different leader archetypes and stated that one archetype was mission oriented. This type of leader can get focused on wins/losses but should rather focus on obtaining teammates’ best effort. If a leader allows his subordinates to make honest mistakes, he should have no trouble admitting when he makes mistakes as well. This will also set an excellent example for the team that nobody is perfect, and mistakes are permissible.
7. There is nothing worse than someone who is ungrateful.
An ungrateful attitude leads to somebody making poor decisions in other areas. Gratitude is a trait that is a direct reflection of an individual’s humility. If a person is not humble enough to see where they have been blessed, they will be unable to see where they can improve. Ingratitude leads to discontentment with life’s circumstances which can be a motivating factor in poor decision making. A person who is grateful for life’s blessings is much more willing to pass those blessings on to another person.
8. Is the team member giving of themselves to help the team or are they using the team to cover for themselves?
This is another simple litmus test that allows me to quickly identify those who I would like on my team. While I see myself as a mission-oriented leader, I also would like to improve on my ability to build relationships with my teammates. If an individual is using the productivity of the team to allow themselves to slack off, they are not the type of person who I would like to have on my team. This is an expectation that can be clearly defined so that every individual knows that the team is more important than individual accomplishments.
9. I get paid more, financially & otherwise, to mentor people through poor judgement.
At my organization promotion comes with a pay raise. There are often other privileges that come with promotion as well. These privileges are given with the understanding that they accompany increased responsibility as well. It is my responsibility as a supervisor, and a leader, to take ownership of the development of the personnel that I have contact with in my current assignment. This is not limited to my direct subordinates but can be applied on a wider basis as well. If I happen to see a coworker making a mistake, I have the obligation to offer guidance on how to properly complete that task. This necessitates that I have a good enough relationship with that coworker to facilitate the guidance without overstepping my bounds or injuring that coworker’s ego.
10. People who have poor character need to be supervised (disciplined).
Mistakes of poor judgement or erroneous thinking can be corrected through proper influence. Mistakes of poor character cannot be corrected as easily and individuals demonstrating their poor character should be disciplined in such a manner as is necessary to prevent the incident from happening again.
11. I have nothing more important to do than to get close to my people.
All of these items discussed above require the use of leadership capital. Without a pre-existing relationship I will not have the leadership capital necessary to influence those individuals. The cliché statement that “people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care” is true. Leadership is all about relationships and people do not want to have a relationship with someone who they feel does not have their best interest at heart.
This is the brief list that I jotted down as the speaker was working his way through the presentation. There are a few points that I would like to flesh out during another post, but this is the best I can do for now.
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