Good leadership needs simplicity
Every day, Google is drowned in a sea of questions. A very popular question amongst leaders:
How to be a good leader?
Over 1 billion search results tell you the all about the secrets.
Lists of 10, 15 or even 50 characteristics you should have are shown. The checklists go from integrity to simply “Making time for employees and yourself”. While some statistics argue, that showing appreciation and giving honest feedback are the most important things, others claim that resilience is the key.
In Googles own leadership study, an interesting finding was revealed: Good leaders act as coaches. It is important to realize that this does not just lay the focus on the employee but also on personal self-reflection. More often than not, it takes simplicity before complex situations can be tackled. Competencies such as active listening, giving constructive feedback or helping employees with individual solutions can only be developed, when you first find some quiet time to reflect on your own mindset.
Successful leading is done with purpose
Imagine the following scenario:
You enter the office early in the morning and all people who cross your way, smile. The smell of fresh coffee is in the air and you know, today will be a good day – as so often. You don’t just enjoy your own work, but you also know that your employees see a purpose in their work.
You might be thinking: this can only exist in my wildest dreams. But maybe not!
In the book Big 5 for Life – John Strelecky tells the story of Thomas, the greatest leader of all times. He leads his organizations based on two guidelines:
- Every employee must know their purpose for existence
- Every employee must have defined their big five for life – five goals they want to achieve in their lifetime
One thing becomes clear in the book: We are not talking about the norm. The book inspires to think differently, which is crucial in the agile business world. It focuses on critical self-reflection and personal development, which are important components, if you want to become a great leader yourself.
A few questions for you:
- Why did you decide to pursue a career in your current organization?
- Why do you want to be a great leader?
- What fulfills you in your current position?
Studies prove the fact that self-reflection is crucial: Employees who take 15 minutes at the end of their day to reflect upon the things they learned, deliver 23% better results after 10 days, than those who do not take time to reflect.
Good leadership with purpose will increase your resilience and have positive effects on your team. It is not without reason, that resilience has been classified as the key competence for leaders of tomorrow!
Replacing fear with lollipop moments
What does it feel like, when you call yourself a leader? Positive, a bit odd or maybe even arrogant?
Drew Dudley has realized that the term Leader has become an incredibly big word in today’s society – so big, that many fear to identify with it.
It is frightening to think that we can have a fundamental influence on our employees and co-workers. A quote by Marianne Williamson describes the situation we find ourselves in perfectly:
“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. “ (Marianne Williamson)
This fear is difficult to replace. In the business world, it happens all too often that the entire praise is dedicated to the biggest achievements, while the small moments of success are forgotten. These small moments, they are the lollipop moments. We are talking about those moments, in which you said or did something, that fundamentally enriched someone’s life.
Drew Dudley emphasizes that we can only be great leaders, if we don’t fear to identify as such; we need the courage to appreciate those small lollipop-moments and share them with the people around us. We must find the courage to live the term leader, instead of fearing.
You must realize that you can be a great enrichment in the lives of your employees and coworkers. As a great leader, the small achievements count just as much as the seemingly big ones.
John Strelecky makes clear, that you have to find a purpose in your work in order to be truly successful. Drew Dudley reminds us, that leaders should use each day to develop themselves further.
But the best inspiration does not help, when the motivation is not enough for the implementation. Do you need support? Learn more about our open trainings that will you to further develop and become a great leader!
