Teams

 

I have previously written about the importance of trust in any arena, but especially leadership.  Building trust requires character and character is a pillar of leadership effectiveness.

Far too often people in leadership positions give lip service to team building, hold workshops on team building, and run employees through team building exercises.  While in many cases the motives are sincere and well founded, the activities end up being a waist of time.  Building a team requires more that just working together in the same unit or department.  It requires time and shared experiences.  It requires people learning that they can truly depend on each other.  It requires trust.

Building trust on and for a team is impossible without a leader who is trusted.  Let me say that again... building trust on and for a team is impossible without a leader who is trusted!  It is entirely possible for people who work together to trust each other but have a void of trust for those in positions of leadership.  This results in a lack of forming a team as a team needs a leader and a leader must be able to be trusted.  No trust...no team.

It all circles back to character.  For a team to function, and function well, it requires a leader who had character and who can be trusted!

Effective Leaders Don't Succeed by Themselves

Effective leaders understand that for their organization to be successful, they need the collective effort of a great team that is built by recruiting and empowering capable individuals.  Great leaders know that they are not a soloist; they are an orchestra conductor.  They coordinate and support others and allow them to do what they do best while providing the support that they need to be successful.  When the success happens, and it will, the best leaders will pass the credit on to the members of the team who made it happen.

I have referenced this before; far too often people who occupy positions of leadership are in it for all the wrong reasons.  Sadly, they do view it as a solo performance and the people around them are only there to provide background vocals.  In cases like this when there is success (which is often short lived), they are quick to take the spotlight and rarely, if ever, share the limelight with others.  This will inevitably lead to discouragement that will morph into dissatisfaction that will lead to mass attrition.  People will talk with their feet and leave.

The effective leader will not let that happen.  Every organization has turnover: people retire, they get promoted, they are presented with that irresistible opportunity, and a variety of other positive reasons.  In healthy organizations this is expected and encouraged; however, in a toxic environment with an egocentric leader, people leave because of the negative culture and not because of the positive reinforcement they have received.  The leader who passes the credit for success on to the people who made it happen will have a much easier time of retaining great people.

The best leaders shine the success light on others and not on themselves.  They pass the credit on which has the result of people feeling valued and appreciated.  It helps create a healthy work culture where people feel welcome and empowered.

 

Wise Leaders have Wise Counselors

 

I have made this point previously... mentoring matters.  Regardless of who you are, of how good you are, of what position you hold, of how successful you are, and of how many people you mentor yourself, YOU need a mentor.  If we subscribe to the concept that all leaders need to develop, regardless of what stage they are at in their career, then mentoring is a critical component of that development.  A couple of days ago I discussed leader self-development.  We discussed the need to read, listen, associate, and network.  Add mentoring that list.

There are countless examples highly successful people who have been mentored by others.  I previously shared that Rick Warren was mentored by Peter Drucker until Drucker's death in 2005.  Additionally, well known mentor/mentee relationships include Oprah Winfrey being mentored by Maya Angelou, Mark Zuckerberg being mentored by Steve Jobs, Bill Gates being mentored by Warren Buffett, Warren Buffett being mentored by Benjamin Graham, John Lewis being mentored by Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry Ford being mentored by Thomas Edison, Plato being mentored by Socrates, Aristotle being mentored by Plato, Alexander the Great being mentored by Aristotle, J.J. Abrams being mentored by Stephen Spielberg, and the list goes on.  Mentoring can also occur through the written word.  Nelson Mandela considered Mohandas Gandhi his mentor although the two never met.

Why is having a mentor (or mentors) so important?  I'm glad you asked!  I would offer that is all comes down to perspective... someone else's perspective of you, your situation, your actions, goals and dreams, and your leadership capacity and ability.  Do not confuse mentoring with extreme criticism.  Effective mentoring is a positive experience that benefits both parties!  An effective mentor will cause you to be reflective and to contemplate perspectives and viewpoints that you may not have otherwise considered.

For mentoring to be effective, there must be a match; that is, a mutual respect and an agreed upon covenant, whether it is formal or informal.  The mentee must implicitly agree to allow the mentor to speak truth into the relationship.  Without that mutual trust, it is doubtful that the relationship will ever rise above that of an advising session.  When people give me advise, I may take it of leave it: when my mentors offer their perspective, I take it to heart and thoroughly process what they have presented to me.  That is powerful and is needed by any leader that wants to take their game to the next level.

Effective mentoring is critical to the success of any leader.  Without it the leader is most likely not going to progress much past where they are currently; with it there is not limit to the heights that the leader can reach.  By doing so, they put themselves into a position to positively affect countless others, and that is what leadership is all about!

Effective Leaders Develop Other Leaders

Effective leaders understand the need to develop other leaders for the growth and health of the organization.  John C. Maxwell discusses this in his this Law of Explosive Growth: "When you recruit good, talented, capable followers to your team, you add to the team's ability.  That has great value.  But it doesn't compare to the impact of adding leaders to the team.  That's why I say to add growth, lead followers---to multiply, add leaders." (1)

The best leaders are talent scouts.  They are always looking out for that team member who has leadership potential.  Remember, effective leaders subscribe to the school of thought that leaders are made and not born.  They can be and are developed.  The astute leader is always looking to identify that next leader.

Another thing that frequently happens is that great leaders will see the potential in someone who will make an effective leader long before they see it in themselves.  This requires all the skills that we have previously discussed regarding building people up, establishing rapport and relationships, and investing in their personal and professional development.  Leadership is a learned skill and can and should be developed through a personal mentoring relationship.  

Leadership development doesn't just happen.  It needs to be a conscience deliberate act that is planned and becomes a part of the organizational culture.  The most effective organizations are led by leaders who develop other leaders as a regular part of doing business.  Without this critical component, organizations will decay and implode from a lack of leadership once the leader leaves.

Another thing to consider is that as new leaders are identified and developed, they can begin assume more and more responsibility.  This is what Maxwell means when he states "to multiply, add leaders".  For any organization to experience exponential growth, they must develop new leaders, and eventually develop leaders who develop leaders.  This is a discussion that we will have at a future date.  For now, understand that leadership development is critical and needs deliberate attention.

Effective leaders identify and invest in others to develop them into effective leaders.

(1) The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (25th Anniversary Edition) p.262

Leaders Seek to Improve Themselves

 

There is widespread agreement that effective leaders must invest in themselves and seek to develop and improve.  The best leaders understand that landing a position and/or status as a leader is not an end, but rather, just a beginning.  Effective leaders are constantly seeking to improve themselves.  While this may seem obvious on the surface, not everyone in a leadership position really realizes just how critical this is for their success and the success of their organization.  With that in mind, here are some fundamental best practices for leaders to develop themselves. (Yes, I have already covered bits and pieces of this in other postings, but here they are all together.)

1) READ

I have covered this in depth in my post of November 26, 2023. I recommend that you revisit that post for an in-depth discussion of the Reading Leader.  The bottom line is that effective leaders read to improve themselves.  It also seems that the more successful a leader is, the more she or he reads.  Reading provides new information, different perspectives, and greater insight that we might otherwise not discover.  Leaders read and they read differently!  Readers read daily!

2) LISTEN

In this age of mass multimedia options, this should not be all that challenging.  There is a plethora of audio options from podcasts to CDs to streaming programs to social media apps.  Whatever format works best for you, you will be wise to work it.  Listen on a regular basis (I recommend daily here as well).  As is true with reading, I also recommend that you listen to a variety of topics and speakers.  This broadens your mind and your perspective.  You will not agree with everything you hear... that's OK.  In fact, that is good.  The effective leader is able to understand and intelligently discuss both sides of any issue.  That's leadership.  That is how it is supposed to work.  In this polarized era of only listening (or viewing) to things that feeds our own belief system, we lose sight of a greater perspective.  Let's be honest here... none of us are ever 100% right all the time.  Listening to differing viewpoints makes the effective leader more informed and much more credible!

3) ASSOCIATE

Effective leaders associate with others who are on the same journey that they are on.  We have all heard it before: you are who you hang out with! (yes, I know... poor grammar).  There is power in associating with people who understand your situation and what you are experiencing.  I have discussed this before: Ben Franklin formed his own group for this very purpose.  I discussed this in detail in my November 25, 2023, post.  See it for details.  The bottom line here is that associating with like-minded people needs to be intentional and consistent.

4) NETWORK

There are some who would consider this part of associating, but I list is separate as I believe is needs special attention.  Effective Leaders need to network and have a network.  In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses three types of people: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen.

The Connector has a very large network of people and can match someone whom they know who needs X with someone whom they know who does X.  They connect them.  Effective leaders need to be or need to know a Connector.

The Maven is a logical keeper of detailed knowledge.  They know stuff!  They are logical and analyze almost everything to discover whether it makes sense.  Effective leaders need to be or need to know a Maven.

The Salesman is that person who is incredibly persuasive.  They have that charisma and charm and can convince just about anybody of anything.  They are great promoters!  Effective leaders need to be or need to know a Salesman.

Not every leader will be all three.  The reality is that we all would be great if we were just one of these.  My point here is that the effective leader does not have to be all three.  In fact, the effective leader doesn't necessarily have to be even one of these, BUT they do need at least one of these types of people in their network.  Effective leaders will build a network that includes all three to increase their own growth and, as a result, the growth of their organization.

Effective leaders make a conscience concerted effort to create and implement a plan for self-improvement.  As I have pointed out before, leadership and leadership development is a process and not an event.  The effective leader understands this and makes self-improvement part of their daily routine!

Influence is Earned

John C. Maxwell states that "Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less." (1)  Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward offer that "Leadership in the influencing of others in a productive, vision-driven direction, and is done thorough the example, conviction, and character of the leader.". (2) Peter G. Northouse writes "Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal." (3).  There is near universal consensus that influence is essential to effective leadership.  If we accept this concept (which I do), then the question begs to be asked, how is this influence achieved?  Good question!  Let's unpack it!

I would offer that the following points are a good starting place for developing influence.  Most, if not all, of these concepts can be found in the wide body of literature that exists on leadership and leadership development.  I offer them here as a combined, condensed resource.

1) Earning influence requires trust which comes from character.

I have written at length on character as a factor of effective leadership.  If you missed it, go back and see my entries on character as I was discussing the Trilateral Leadership Ledger presented in Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward. 

People must trust you if you ever hope to have influence with them.  Remember, trust is that element that takes a very long time to establish and can be destroyed in seconds.

2) Earning influence comes from building strong, positive relationships.

Again, I have written extensively on this when discussing the LLR. 

Relationship building is a process that also takes time.  Relationships are built on trust, openness, and honesty.  The effective leader works hard at sincerely building strong, lasting relationships.

3) Earning influence requires a leader to have vision, purpose, and know where they are going.

People will not buy in to a leader who does not have a vision and direction for the organization.  In order to earn influence from the members of an organization, the leader must have and communicate a clear understanding of where it is they are trying to take the organization, AND, the leader MUST inspire people to want to follow them and be a part of the end result.

Influence cannot be demanded.  Influence cannot be bestowed.  Influence must be earned.  It is earned through trust, relationships, and having and communicating a clear vision and direction.

(1) The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (1998 Edition) by John C. Maxwell p.17

(2) Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward p.7

(3) Introduction to Leadership (5th Edition) by Peter G. Northouse p.6

Leaders Offer Sincere Praise

Most likely we have worked for and/or with people in leadership positions who do this and those who don't.  If you reflect back, you will realize that there is a striking difference.  The leader who offers sincere praise (it has to be sincere and not fake... most people can spot fake praise a mile away) creates a wonderful work environment and makes members of the team feel good about themselves and about the organization.  The person in the leadership position who does not. or will not, praise is at a striking disadvantage.  There is compelling research that suggests that people value recognition more than money.

Sincere praise does several things, and the effective leader is wise to have the habit of using it:

1) Sincere praise motivates.  People truly appreciate being told when they are doing something right.  Far too often people in positions of leadership will only point out the deficiencies and mistakes.  This is discouraging and disheartening and leads to a lack of productivity.  Tell people that you appreciate them and thank them for a job well done.  It creates a much better working environment for everyone!

2) Sincere praise creates a positive culture.  When you have been around as long as I have, you will have worked in very positive cultures and very toxic cultures.  No one likes to be in a position where they dread going to work.  It creates stress and, in many cases, serious physical and psychological health issues.  A well-placed word of praise and acknowledgment of a job well done creates a sense of self-worth and motivates people to want to continue to do well, if not better.

3) Sincere praise produces results.  Tell someone that they are doing a great job and chances are very high that they will will work harder and produce more.  It is important to understand that I am not advocating using praise to get people to work harder.  Praise should be given because it is the right thing to do; however, it does get results!

Be the leader who offers sincere praise to their team because it is the right thing to do and the results will be well worth it, the primary being that people will feel good about themselves and the job they are doing.  In this case, everyone wins!