You’re new to the job. Your predecessor was in the job for 15 years. They commanded respect and everyone in the business knew they were the boss. Now you’ve been chosen to fill their shoes. You need to replicate their style, ensure your troops fall in line, and do what needs to be done. Give them clear instructions with a firm hand and you’ll be alright. Really? Or should we consider Leadership Team Development?
Pause, reflect, and adapt. How successful was the previous boss? Were they getting the very best out of their team? Did the team volunteer their very best effort every day and love being part of the business? If not, then you can do better. The old boss may have been doing ok, but can you imagine if you could get everyone enthusiastic about giving their best effort? About having a say and getting to play a real part in the future decisions and direction of the business? The day of “The Boss” being the only brain in the business has passed. Where one man/woman comes up with solutions and the minions mindlessly carry out daily tasks is fast becoming a thing of the past for two reasons. 1) People want more than to be a minion. 2) Businesses need to utilise more than one brain to stay ahead.
People want more than to be a minion:
The world has moved on from the industrial age. Machines now do most of the menial work. Humans now want to “enjoy” their working life where possible. Where once the only consideration was money, now working conditions and job satisfaction play a big, if not a bigger role, when choosing an employer. But one criterion in particular, feeling valued and part of something bigger than oneself, is the difference between a good employee and a great employee. This sense of Team delivers businesses Employee Engagement, Conscienceness, Voluntary Effort, Consideration for Others, a Sense of Personal Worth, and Challenge & Accomplishment that help provide the perfect conditions for good people to form Great Teams.
People who are cared for, care. People who are used, use. It’s not rocket science, it’s psychology. Our Beliefs are conditioned by our experiences. If someone hurts us we Believe they are bad people. If they help us we Believe they are good people. So if they simply use us we Believe they are users. But if they truly value us we Believe we should add value. Because our Beliefs determine our Actions and thereby our Results, we need to instill Positive Empowering Beliefs so that we get the right Actions and right Results.
Businesses need to utilise more than one brain to stay ahead:
“No one of us is cleverer than all of us”. We are in the age of collaboration. Since the introduction of the World Wide Web, collaboration has become much more accepted and mainstream. A problem shared is not only a problem halved but a problem likely to be solved in half the time. The cleverest man in the room is the one who opens up his challenge to others. Who seeks advice, takes opinions on board, makes his intended solution public, gets feedback, and then decides his preferred course of action. Why would you not? It makes a lot more sense to “Measure twice and cut once” than to pursue a self-devised solution having never gained another perspective. Today’s successful businesses use all the relevant brain power available to them. They share challenges, gain perspectives, leave behind their egos, debate solutions, and agree on a way forward. The Leader will always have the final decision, so why not harvest the brain power to consider as many perspectives as possible, and make a more informed decision?
While it may take a little more time to “measure twice”, you are much more likely to come up with the right solution. It also creates a Great Team of employees, who love their job because they no longer have a Boss, but a colleague who is a Great Leader.
For help with your Team Development & Leadership see https://focus2succeed.ie/ or reach out to me @ damian.shields@focus2succeed.ie.
