Regardless of what environment you are in, as a leader we have to wear many hats, we have to be the Swiss Army Knife of the tool set, able to do many things often at the same time. The leader must be able to be both a strategist and an executor; they must be both theoretical and operational. Their eyes will use both the telescope and the microscope. They must drive the purpose and the delivery.
Their necks will be sore from both looking up and focusing down.
Define the rules
Vision
As I have written about before, a leader must not only have a clear vision for the business, they also need to be able to clearly communicate that vision, identifying the journey that will be taken and the milestones along the way.
Style
Style, culture, behaviours, values. The leader must both define these and also live by them. Remember the quote "I cant hear your voice because your footsteps are deafening". The leader must talk the talk and walk the walk.
Nothing will undermine any cultural behaviours quicker that a leader displaying opposed behaviours and traits.
System
This is the How and the What that supports the Why of a business. Here the leader must work closely with their SMEs to ensure that they get the most from those who know more. Some leaders struggle with others knowing more than them, but any organisation needs a leader with the overview and foresight, backed up my topic experts who have a narrower and deeper knowledge and understanding of the market, business and clients.
Environment
Environment encompasses many things. The physical, virtual, social, cultural and political. All of there elements must combine in a symbiotic way to not just allow, but to enable and enhance creativity, productivity, growth and learning.
When this melting pot receives the right amount of heat it will release the true power of people.
Build the team
Apart from the leaders natural inclination to collaboratively lead, the most important factor in the success of leadership is the team below the leader. Like all really successful sports teams, this team should be a combination of home-grown talent and bought in expertise. The team will be coach led but player driven. The team should be diverse in background, talent and experience. It is critical that the leader knows the team’s strength and plays people to those strengths. This does not mean limiting people to just their area of expertise, far from it.
By having a diverse team who work together, knowledge and skills will naturally be shared and individuals will grow and develop by broadening their knowledge base.
In order to be coach led but player drive, the leader (coach) must be comfortable to delegate authority, but must never abdicate responsibility. There will be tension in a diverse team. Tension is natural and one of the quickest ways to both grow individuals knowledge and also the team’s strengths. This way people will build a feel for the business.
This feel cannot be caught, it must be gained, almost symbiotically as part of a well lead team.
People must feel that they have freedom with responsibility. Leaders must set a framework in an environment of trust and let the team members get on with what they do best. This way they have control but within known and agreed limits. Without this freedom, growth of the individual, team and business will be stifled. If the framework is too rigid decision making is slowed down, if it is too loose, errors occur, and direction is lost. As people learn and develop, the framework should be adjusted to give them more control.
The environment should be fixed in principle but flexible in practice.
We want to build an environment where problems are solved at source and rarely come across the desk of the leader.
Communication
Communication
Communication
One of the most important strengths of the successful leader is communications. It is not just what is said, but it is how it is said.
The what
The leader must be clear on the goals of the business in the short, medium and long term. They must paint a picture of the journey ahead. The journey is a bit like a distant view of a mountain. The elements in the foreground are well defined and easy to reach. The further away you look, the less well defined the picture is and the harder it is to get there. However, the closer you get, the more defined things become and the smaller the steps are to get there. This is the picture the leader must paint.
The how
All too often you read articles that over complicate a message by the author choosing complex language to try and demonstrate expertise and wisdom. I believe it is the exact opposite when it comes to communication as a leader. Less really is more. Simple, meaningful, and clear messages are far more likely to resonant with people.
Your need to find the beauty in brevity.
Remember in school learning times tables? The key to remembering was repetition, it’s the same when instilling a vision. By consistently and repeatedly using the same simple language it will become part of people’s daily language.
Phrases will become part of the vernacular thus engraining the vision.
Words matter
The type of words that a leader uses really matter when it comes to the culture and behaviours in a team or business. Words that are positive and optimistic, drive behaviours with those characteristics. Conversely, words that are negative, dour, and backward-looking, limit and define how people will behave. The leader must be a positive filter on all aspects of the business and their words are the biggest influence on their people.
Leaders must remember that words, especially spoken words create feelings and it is feelings that bind us all together or tear us apart.
By Richard Wright
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