Leadership Principles - Part 2
In a recent post, I listed three leadership principles that drive and frame entrepreneurs hiring employee #1. In the next few posts, I will consider each principle separately and how leaders bring each principle to life in their world of leading others in their businesses or at work. These principles are included in a much larger body of work I call “thoughtful leadership” as leaders are only as effective as they are reflective in trying to understand, apply, and improve their leadership style.
Principle #1 – Leaders Lead from the Front…
If you’re a leader, then someone must be following you. And if someone is following you then someone is watching you. And if someone is watching you then they are evaluating you. And if someone is evaluating you then someone is drawing conclusions about you. That sounds intimidating as if someone is reading your mind learning about the real you. You cannot get around it; when you lead you accept the high calling of putting yourself out there. With that call comes a privilege and a responsibility to do it well.
…with the Heart in Mind
Brene Brown talks about how yesterday’s worker was first about muscle, then it was about the brain, but now it’s about the heart. This means that today’s leaders must be about the heart of their followers, too. Leaders must bring even the least amount of empathy they can muster to be about the hearts of their followers. When you lead with the heart of your followers in mind, leadership takes on a whole new dimension. Sure, while there are still skills and competencies you must deploy, considering the heart of those you lead provides the motivation and commitment to lead well because someone is counting on you to do it well. With this added dimension, brings who you are into view and who you are becomes the foundation that will hold the structure of business and relationships. Your character and its impact on those who follow will propel you to success or will be your ultimate failure.
…with Character
Your character is measured by your integrity. Integrity is the trait that makes your word your bond. Integrity is the character trait that makes you keep your word and which makes you do the right thing. It forms the basis for trust in the hearts of your followers having confidence that they know you care about what you say and that words have meaning and implications. A leader’s character is essentially who they are at their core. Followers come to know who leaders really are by whether their actions match their words and followers can sniff out frauds faster than anyone.
…with both Confidence and Competence
Leaders are also a combination of confidence and competence. Followers want to know you know stuff and have the internal fortitude to make things happen. Followers count on you and rely on your level of persistence and expertise to lead organizations and departments technically well. This helps to avoid costly mistakes and unintended consequences for everyone. While followers expect leaders to be competent, they don’t expect leaders to know everything. In fact, this is where character and competence become an art and the beautiful demonstration and expression of what could be competing traits become beautifully illustrated in a leader who confidently says, “I don’t know!”
I’ve been thinking about this recently. We’ve all heard people don’t leave their jobs they leave their bosses. When you consider the amount of upheaval changing jobs causes and the costly pain this transition brings, it is a reality that some find all the discomfort worth it because it is less than the painful experience of working for someone who not only lacks the heart of leadership but the necessary skills to pull it off. If today’s leaders don’t stop long enough to stop playing blind folded darts, they won’t discover if changes in their leadership art form is required. Today’s followers want, no, they are demanding, working with and for someone who cares enough to make needed modifications to lead better tomorrow.