The Leader Your Team Needs Today
Stella was a successful mid-level manager at a large company. She had a solid reputation for delivering results and excelled at the fundamentals of productivity and operations. She was on the fast track for larger roles. As a next step in her growth, Stella was moved to one of the largest, most complex operations in the company. Suddenly, what had worked for her in the past ceased to deliver. The operation of her business was faltering, financial results were lacking and her team was not excelling. The story of Stella happens all too often, in she was missing a key component in managing a more complex operation. What she was missing was the investment and development in her people, as a “people first” leader. The kind of leader a team needs today.
Jack Welch is credited as saying, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” This is about adopting a people leader mindset in everything you do. The members of a team are people first, and employees second.
How can you become a leader that inspires your team?
It happens by starting with a “people first” mindset.
In today’s workplace, whether virtually or in person, how can you become the type of leader that others naturally want to follow? Even more, how can you become a leader that inspires your team? It happens by starting with that “people first” mindset. Then, it follows with 5 key visible elements, you as a leader put into practice to show up as a people first leader. Then you will start to inspire your team.
The 5 key elements of being the leader your team needs today:
Be Approachable – An approachable leader is reliable and consistent, both in what you say and what you do. It starts as simple as a “Hi” when walking by as well as putting others at ease when engaging in a conversation.
Be Authentic – Show genuineness that is true to who you are. Authentic leaders build authentic relationships and inspire trust and motivation in their employees. Your authentic self is unique to you only and will be appreciated when presented authentically around your team.
Express Curiosity – Ask questions of your team, not to challenge, but rather with an open mind to gain their insights and input. Avoid asking “why” when you are engaging in questioning. “Why” puts others on the defense while “what” or “how” expresses true curiosity in the question.
Listen Well – Let’s face it, leaders have a lot to say. A big part of a leader’s role is communicating, transmitting vital information to the people on their team. A great people leader also takes the time to listen for understanding, and not just responding. Remember we have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak. To fully listen the mind must become somewhat blank, void of biases and pre-determined responses.
Model Empathy – If we’ve learned nothing in the last two years, we’ve learned as leaders we must see the world better through our people’s eyes. Empathy is demonstrated we start with, “I understand how you feel…” or “I’m sorry to hear that.” It doesn’t mean you always agree but you are willing to appreciate your team member’s point of view. An empathetic leader listens with the ears of others and feels with the heart of others.
In the end we all have results to deliver, projects to complete and customers to satisfy. Being a great people leader does not mean you have to become “soft” or avoid tough conversations when they must happen. It means that when as an approachable, authentic leader that expresses curiosity, listens well and models empathy, trust is established. The team is inspired to follow. Team members respect your role in driving the business. In the end, you manage the business, and you lead the person. Once Stella adopted these elements, and really took the time to develop her team, they felt inspired by her leadership. And guess what happened? Great business results followed.
