Here is an extract from a Nelson Mandela speech, written by Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
What is leadership?
There are traits that define a leader and they are traits that are visible in any true leader.
It begins with the acknowledgement that a leader’s first duty is:
To identify the needs of the people, and serve those needs until the goal is accomplished.
There are times that a leader will need to make sacrifices in order to meet the needs of the people who are taking care of the greater needs.
It is by the example that is set by the leader that the people follow.
Every true leader understands that not even the King or the Queen is above the law, they exemplify it.
No one ever has to question what a leader is doing, they see it in their actions and their attitudes and they operate with transparency.
A leader has nothing to hide and everything to share in order to provide for the greater needs.
To translate this into a corporate environment let’s take a look at what the core responsibilities of a leader in business are.
If you are in a leadership role, it is your job to educate, motivate, and inspire the people you lead.
It reminds me of an old joke.
A pirate was sailing along and they spotted a British warship. The Captain called out “Cabin boy, bring me my red shirt!”
The Captain put on his red shirt and the pirates were victorious. As they sailed on they found themselves being approached by two British warships. The Captain again called out “Cabin boy, bring me my red shirt!”
Again the pirates were victorious.
After the battle the cabin boy asked, the Captain, “Sir! Why is it you asked me to bring you your red shirt before battle?”
“It’s simple.” The captain replied, “I wear the red shirt so that if I am injured in battle. The men will not know, and they will continue to fight on for the ship, and for themselves.” The cabin boy thought for a moment.
“I see Captain. You care more for the men than yourself, and would rather die than have them try to save you and be lost themselves.”
“Exactly.” The Captain replied. It was then that they spotted three British warships coming towards them and the Captain cried out “CABIN BOY, BRING ME MY BROWN PANTS!”
Not every battle can be won, and even the greatest leader will acknowledge when they are out matched. The true lesson here is that it falls upon a leader to inspire, and motivate the people around them in achieving a common goal by any means necessary even if the leader makes the sacrifices.
How can any leader expect anyone to follow if they will not make the same sacrifices, which they are asking to be made. The Captain, Also took the time to educate the cabin boy about how he led. He does this so that maybe one day if the cabin boy found himself in a position to lead, he would be prepared for it.
Educating people about what you do prepares them to do it and helps them understand why they should or should not follow you. Do not look at the question, “Why?” as a question of your authority, but a recognition of it and an opportunity elevate their understanding and give them the opportunity to have a more active versus passive role. It gives the opportunity to educate them on the ownership of their job and their function. Helping your people understand the “whys” will often make inspiring them and motivating them into action much easier.
Think about yourself for a moment, do you not have an easier time getting into a project when you understand why you are doing it?
You are reading this book because you had an interest in being a leader, or you are a leader and you want to be better. You asked the question, “How can I be a better leader?” the moment you started reading this book. I wrote it, to answer that question.
I also have a few questions of my own.
“What do your one on one sessions look like with your people?”
“What does your daily interaction with your people look like?”
“How do you perceive these interactions?”
“How do they perceive these interactions?”
“How do you know?”
Every interaction is an opportunity to educate, motivate and inspire your people to perform at a high level and increase their loyalty to the company and to you. It is your leadership they follow, not company policies and it is you they are looking to show them how it is done. Here is what that can look like:
Every day you see these people when they come in. Do you say good morning?
Do you smile? Do you know anything about their lives to ask them about?
When I worked for a large inbound call center in Oklahoma City, we greeted each customer service representative with “Hi, thanks for coming today, I am happy to see you.”
I even watched a pizza place do the same thing. I used to go this pizza place in Oklahoma City called Cici’s. Anytime a customer walked in, the whole crew greeted them.
“Hi, welcome to Cici’s, thanks for coming in!”
When was the last time your boss told you they were happy to see you just because you came to work?
How do you think it would make you feel if they did?
The point is this. Each of us is looking for some positive acknowledgement of our existence. We spend a lot of that time at work. It could be they are having a rough morning, then you give them a reason to be a little happier before they start and you still have no clue what their life was before they walked in the door today
When you start some ones day off with that kind of positive acknowledgement it creates a desire to perform. Creating that desire is the first step to getting that higher performance. Without the desire you are going to spin your wheels, working five times harder than you need to trying to get them to buy in.
Instead of trying to get them to buy in, buy them. Buy them with your interest in their presence beyond their function. Create an environment where they feel cared about and they feel like they are valued and they will be happy to work hard to make you proud.
Think of them as your children and it changes the whole dynamic.
How do you best get a child to perform?
It depends on the child.
It is the same principle in dealing with direct reports. Each of us is motivated and inspired by different things. If you want to know what works, you need to talk to them. You need to get personal, find out their interests. The things that interest them are a great way to analyze their thought process and give you a better idea of how to best approach this individual.