Contents
Backlinks
To be an effective leader, you have to get it, want it, and have the capacity to do it.
Have the aptitude, natural ability, and thorough understanding of the ins and outs of the job.
Get it is aptitude, or the natural ability for something. An intuitive feel or grasp of what the job ism how it works and how to do it. Natural feel: biochemistry. - Ken Robinson, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
Sincerely desire the role.
Possess the emotional, intellectual, physical and time capacity to do the job.
The heart to feel what others are feeling, the ability to walk a mile in their shoes, to be open and honest with yourself and others, a willingness to be real and connect with others, to be humbly confident, and to be self-aware enough to know how you are influencing people.
Low emotional capacity bosses don't pick up the signals their employees send them about how their behavior effects others. They make superficial connections and aren't honest with themselves and others.
The brains to do critical thinking, solve complex problems, predict, prioritize, and plan, along with the ability to conceptualize, strategize, and systematize how to do things while orchestrating human resources.
Low intellectual capacity bosses lack the ability to visualize an outcome before comiting to a course of action. They set objectives without considering the resources needed to meet goals. They lack mental agility, overanalyzing some things and oversimplifying others.
The stamina, energy, and tenacity to do what it takes to finish what you start, to "pour it on" when necessary, to devote the time and effort to master your craft, to do the work, and to get your hands dirty when necessary.
Low physical capacity bosses lack the stamina and energy to see tasks to completion. They rarely leave the office to check in on their teams and aren't willing to get dirty and do hard work to get things done.
The self-discipline to use your time effectively, to avoid the tyranny of urgency, to structure, prioritize, organize, and delegate in a way that frees up and optimizes the most precious resources of all - your time.
Low time capacity bosses are a whirling dervish of activity robbing time from others while using theirs to pursue things that are "in the moment". They expect others to drop what they're doing to help them get caught up.
In an ideal scenario, you have the "right person", in the "right seat".
The right person for a position is defined by their alignment with the core values of the team.
The right seat for a position is based on developing the major roles and responsibilities and then evaluating whether each employee "gets it", "wants it", and has the "capacity to do it".
Create a compelling vision for the team by answering eight key questions:
To communicate this, a quarterly state of the company meeting is helpful since people need to hear messages at least seven times for them to sink in fully. The state of the company meeting should cover:
Consistency in messaging is key to realizing the benefit from the quarterly state of the company meeting.
To enable the team to deliver on the direction, they need the right tools to do their jobs.
The easiest way to establish whether the team has the right tools is to ask them. They'll let you know if they have the right tools or not.
Having set the direction and given your team what they need to succeed, you need to get out of the way so they can do their work. That having been said, you can't progress to this point until you establish that you have the right people in the right seats.
You also need to ensure that you aren't taking on problems that aren't yours. People can bring you problems and it's your role to be a sounding board and help them work towards resolution themselves, but don't assume other peoples problems. It takes away their opportunity to grow and develop and causes huge time constraints for yourself.
After you've conveyed the vision to your team, all your actions and decisions need to be aligned with this vision. All the words in the world mean nothing to your people if you don't back them up with your actions. "Do what I say, not as I do" doesn't work. Everyone is watching you and before they commit to change themselves, they are going to judge how well you've embraced the change first. The needs of the company need to come first and be before your own.
Take time on a regular basis, away from the office, to reflect "on" the business rather than working "in" the business. This helps you stay sharp and confident when setting direction. I've incorporated prompts for reflection within my Journal Templates.
You cannot be inside of a complex system and at the same time understand the system you are in. - Kurt Godel
In order to maintain accountability, you need to maintain clear expectations. In reality expectations are a two way street. You need to be clear about your expectations of the team, and your team members need to be clear about their expectations of you. The four areas in which you need clear expectations are:
Tools for ensuring your communications are clear and received correctly:
A weekly meeting with your team helps you stay in steady contact with your team and ensure that everyone is in alignment. Communicating on a consistent basis saves time and helps more things get done. Also determine how often to hold one on one meetings with your team from none at all, to monthly, to weekly depending on your teams needs and your management style.
Quarterly conversations (not performance reviews) should focus on the 5-5-5:
This is approached through the lens of what's working and what's not.
Recognition disciplines:
The two questions which need to be addressed (and are interrelated) are:
This is the opportunity for the employee to share their accomplishments, tasks or procedures they feel are going well. The manager needs to listen and try to understand:
After they share, it's your turn to share what you feel is working. Be sure to recognize and thank them for their accomplishments.
This question is an attempt to create a safe harbor for flushing out issues and getting to the root of problems. Above all, try to seek understanding which includes:
Once they finish listing the issues, share what you feel is not working. The idea is to create a list, without any judgement.
After the list is created, move into solution mode. Create together ways to address the issues in the coming quarter, but remember to keep the responsibility for resolution within their locus of control. Questions you want to understand are:
Remember that issues tend to fall into three broad categories: