The Learning Leader
by Gregory Reel
As executives leading organizations we are expected to bring our “A” game to the office every day and face our staffs and business partners with the wisdom, wit and fortitude that can only be presented by some higher being than us lowly humans. But none the less-- that is the expectation. And, for those of us that have had the blessed occasion to step on our tongues or trip over our feet know, when the expectation isn’t met- the pain is real and can be problematic for much longer than anyone should have to endure.
This occassion is, with my experience, a significant opportunity for us to learn AND TEACH the true meaning of leadership. However, this can only occur if the stumbler understands how to recover their senses, add in a bit or more of humility and focus on those traits that make a leader great. It is here then, that I’ll attempt to share with you just a few of those traits – you be the judge of how you’re doing on them:
1. Accepting responsibility.
This one can be quite scary. And means that we must answer for our actions, and often, the actions of others. We know that we all will make mistakes and screw something up at some point in our career. The goal for an inspirational leader is to set the example of how best to deal with these circumstances when they occur. The best way to do that is acknowledge the problem, own the outcome and address how or what will be done to fix it and prevent it from happening again in the future. This acknowledgement sets the tone that you embrace, and accept, a learning, nurturing environment that allows for prudent errors. Take note that this acceptance does not suggest there are not consequences for the errors-and how you handle dealing with them or handing them out is the most important piece of responsibility you will administer. That said, owning and avoiding the temptations to fix blame and focusing on the past is what courageous leaders do. They opt, instead, to focus their attention on the future and ways to solve situations as they are. This is mandatory and leads to confidence building and trust within an environment.
2. Communicating to build understanding, support and acceptance.
Peter Drucker once claimed that 60% of all managerial problems came from the result of poor or faulty communications. I’d argue that it might even be higher. Most leaders think that they are great communicators. I’d argue that most are strong speakers, and even great motivators, but are fairly poor communicator as they focus on getting a message out instead of ensuring that their teams understand the message, have trust in the message, have all the right information at the right time and are able to share their thoughts about the message. Ensuring that every one of these “activities” occurs is what makes a leader strong. Are you talking AT your team or are your really communicating with them? And don’t forget that once you start to communicate with them that you also must walk the talk- they are watching you and everything YOU DO counts.
3. Becoming the best YOU can be.
Leaders who choose to rest on their knowledge- those who are not committed to personal improvement- are doom to fail. It’s that simple…there’s no other way to put it. In today’s fast paced and constantly changing environment leaders will fall quickly behind their peers in terms of skills, knowledge, and experiences if they, too, are not focused on development. Knowing your weaknesses and working around them simply is not good enough. I’ve known many executives who believed they could hire, train or outsource the areas that they were deficient in – and yes- they got away with it-- for a while. But those that included a focused developmental plan with measurable activities in the areas of their deficiencies clearly exceed those that did not. And just as important-- they typically included their teams in the developmental process as well. Meaning that the entire team understood and was focused on the need for constant improvement and that effort helped raise the enterprise beyond itself. This is what leadership does- it builds, guides, focuses and when needed --refocuses -at every given opportunity.
So how is your leadership? Are you a courageous inspirational leader? Are you working on your, and your teams, capabilities?
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