Talent Journey

Everyone holds some type of leadership role in life. Wherever you lead – home, sports, community, church, or work – you have an important opportunity to influence and some core leadership principles apply.

Most people think of leadership as a position of power and control: “I tell others what to do and they do it”, or “I finally get to run things the way I want to.” Leadership naturally carries a certain amount of power and authority which increases or decreases depending on the position of leadership. However, the real test of leadership impact is how effectively leadership power and authority are used in accomplishing the goals of the organization.

Most organizational charts take the shape of a pyramid, with the leader at the top and those led listed somewhere beneath them. This type of chart implies a top down approach to leadership. In fact, many leadership authors applaud this traditional pyramid approach when talking about setting vision. Most of us agree that leaders are ultimately responsible for setting and communicating vision within their organizations.

Some 21st century leadership gurus, however, also advocate turning the traditional pyramid upside down. This inverted pyramid depicts leaders serving the needs of those reporting to them. It is a model of servant leadership. The servant leader’s primary role is to grow and develop the people they lead.

A natural discomfort can emerge at first glance when considering the notion of servant leadership. Becoming a servant often conjures up feelings of weakness, softness, or lack of resolve. In reality, those attributes are the exact opposite of what it takes to be an effective servant leader. Servant leaders demonstrate strength, transparency and tenacious resolve as they instruct, teach, encourage and grow their people.

According to Max DePree, former CEO of Fortune 500 Company Herman Miller Inc., “The art of leadership is liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible”. Thus, the leader is the “servant” of his followers in that he/she removes the obstacles that prevent them from doing their jobs. Eloquently said, Max DePree awakens our minds to think of leadership as the place from which positional authority equates to helping others be successful. This flies in the face of top down “tell them what to do” management. In short, the true leader enables his or her followers to realize their full potential.

A shift in style and skills aligned with servant leadership requires a move away from a dictatorial “project/task” approach to a critical “results through people” orientation. When the focus is on making others successful in their roles – people learn, grow and flourish. The result is increased effectiveness, confidence, and overall organizational success.
A servant leader should not be deterred by the initial investment. In the short run, it can take longer and requires more effort on the leader’s part. It means giving more of one’s self to others. It requires patience and compassion. It also means giving up control and allowing others to experience recognition and reward. A motivated leader can learn and adopt these concepts of servant-leadership, and the rewards are great! It is a win-win all around, for the individual doing the task, the leader, and the company.

Closing thought: “The bottom line is that leadership shows up in the inspired action of others. We traditionally have assessed leaders themselves. But maybe we should assess leadership by the degree to which people around leaders are inspired.” Dr. Jack Weber, Professor of Management, University of Virginia.

Edited by Diane Brown and Alane Taylor of TJ Associates, LLC. from June 2008 Newsletter written by Chaplain Bill Stewart of Lexus Toyota Carlsbad, CA. Copyright protected worldwide.

Studies consistently show that an employee’s direct supervisor has the greatest impact on his or her performance and motivation to contribute to the company.

In today’s rapidly changing work environment, leaders experience success when they effectively demonstrate strong people skills. Effective leaders can no longer rely on their own expertise as the primary or sole credential. They meet goals by working through others with flexibility and energy. Successful 21st century companies will establish, develop, and foster company-wide leadership. Top leaders will learn to capitalize on the talents and expertise of each team member, benefiting the organization as a whole.

How can you drive stronger contribution within your teams? Below we have captured five key strategies we believe are critical in leading effectively:

1. Provide a sense of vision and meaning. Casting a clear and compelling vision helps the collective team understand the purpose of your business. It defines what differentiates your business in the eyes of your customers. A simple, articulate and vivid picture generates enthusiasm and solidarity. People like to be part of a winning team. Help your team see your business as important, serving a cause, and making a difference in the lives of your customers. Over-communicate, but do not complicate your visionary message.

2. Align and prioritize your strategic goals. Organizations underperform due to internal competition as much as (or more than) external competition. Giving your team knowledge about the goals, and the rewards that come with meeting goals fosters alignment and collaboration. In setting specific goals, purposefully establish the link between these outcomes and your organizational strategy. Once goals are established, give the employees as much implementation decision-making as possible. Empower your staff with appropriate levels of trust, support, information, and other tools to achieve their goals. People work harder and smarter when they understand their role in the overall mission of the company and take ownership of the result. Expect excellence.

3. Understand what motivates your people. People do things for their reasons and not ours. For this reason, it is critical to identify what matters most to the people you lead. One of the ways to identify motivators is to ask good questions. Here are some examples. What challenges do you most enjoy? Will you describe a couple of accomplishments you were most proud of and why? Describe some times in the past where you felt most fulfilled at work. What kind of support do you most appreciate and give me an example of when that has happened for you? The answers to questions such as these will provide a road map for motivating your people according to their unique needs.

4. Equip your people for success. The first step in equipping people for success is ensuring that you “get the right person in the right seat of the bus.” (Read Jim Collin’s “Good to Great” for a terrific explanation of this.) In our “If the Job Could Talk” article, we advocate matching required job attributes to a job candidate’s natural strengths. When alignment of personality, motivation, and competency occurs between a job requirement and the employee, the organization is poised for success. As a result, the leader’s job now becomes easier because the focus is on growing and developing employees, instead of performance improvement. In addition, properly equipping employees by providing feedback and recognition the way the employee prefers motivates for future goals and projects. Again, there are different style preferences and great leaders seek to engage the appropriate style for each unique employee.

5. Set measurable outcomes within a collaborative climate. Great leaders demonstrate a keen ability to create challenging and exciting goals that are also realistic and achievable. They also celebrate progress along the way. As milestones are met, everyone celebrates. This engages the team for on-going success. Creating measures that reward collaborative teamwork and team contribution builds momentum for success. It also makes working together a lot more fun.

We believe that great leadership is a progressive journey, and no one arrives at the final destination this side of heaven! In that light, we would like to challenge you to pick one tip from the above list and concentrate on developing that strategy over the next 30 days. We would love to hear your stories and possibly share them in future issues. What did you discover or achieve as you focused on implementing that strategy? Please, send us your comments.

Author: Diane Brown at TJ Associates LLC (Talent Journey). Copyright protected, all rights reserved worldwide.