It is amazing the moment a leader realizes that the goal is not to have a team of followers but a team of leaders. When you do not empower and develop your team, you have to think for each one of them and direct them accordingly. When you are doing that, you can’t accomplish anything else. When you empower and train your team, you are now thinking about the big picture and moving the organization forward. You can focus on where you’re going and how to develop even more leaders.
This is something I am struggling with a lot lately. As I try to define who I am and what I want my future to look like, I am trying to discover what my “art” is. I know what I am good at and what I like to do, but what are others willing to pay me to do.
I have worked for and with so many people who simply could not control their cool. Some of them were scary to be around in high-stress scenarios and others were actually fun to get spun up. I watched wrenches, clipboards, coffee mugs, and many other objects fly across the room or flightline and even a couple people who began to dry heave. All because of stress. Now, everyone else on the plane or team was experiencing the same stress factors, we just had a different response. When you are leading a team and things begin to crumble, it is normal to feel stressed. It is normal to want to throw something, swear or whatever. However, you can’t let your team see this, because they are looking to you to be their rock. I bet the guy in the picture is stressed out; however, he knows he has to remain calm for his team.
Whenever I take the time to share something I value with my team it seems to grow exponentially. Sometimes it is a factoid I discovered by accident in some obscure Air Force pub that helps to solve a problem at a later date. I know this has happened to me many times. I was talking to someone and they shared a seemingly random piece of information with me and within just a few days, I was able to use that information. I am not sure what the lesson is, but this quote made me think about it.
I read in a Harvard Business Review article about the power of appreciation. The author said that those who don’t feel appreciated at work have a 30% higher rate of coronary disease than those who do. We are literally killing our teammates by not appreciating their efforts or listening to their concerns. Now, think about all the times you felt valued at work and how much harder you worked for that team. Why not create the same environment where you work?
Over the years, I continually hear great leaders compare being a leader at work to parenthood. We love our children and want them to succeed. We don’t alienate them or label them as losers when they mess up. They always know they have a place on the team even if they mess up. However, we also are willing to correct them and offer growth feedback because we want them to succeed, not because we want a “world’s best parent” coffee mug. We care more about their success than about being a friend. How is this any different than being a leader?
It makes me laugh when I hear supervisors talking about the quality of these younger or new teammates. Well, there quality is a direct reflection of your leadership. You were not a peach either when you started out…develop your team.
Read more about this topic here: The Entitled Generation
Have you ever thought you weren’t good enough to do something? When you thought that, it probably crippled you with fear to try something new. I know I feel that way all the time, especially with trying to start a media company. “Who am I to think others want to read my posts or listen to my podcast?” Instead we need to stop worrying about all the people who might not like it; rather, worry about adding value to the one who will learn from us. If we can help just one other person get a little further along in life, I think that is pretty amazing.
Being a leader is not about getting a fancy duty title or fringe benefits. The 1950’s model of leadership was to have the minions serve the boss. They would run in front of him and remove the obstacles in his path, they would lay their jackets over the mud hole so his boots wouldn’t lose their luster. That is an archaic view and completely opposite of what a leader is. A leader should be looking for and destroying the obstacles in the paths of his team members so they can do amazing things for the organization. When this happens, there are hordes of people achieving goals for the team not multiple people serving the whims of one person.
