Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
You’ve probably heard the great quote from Donald H. McGannon, “Leadership is Action, Not Position.” But what does that really mean and, more importantly, how do you achieve it?
It’s important to note that you cannot successfully anoint yourself or anyone else a leader without first earning it by:
- Holding yourself and others accountable. And making no excuses for failures and misfires.
- Admitting when you have made a mistake. How can your team and future leaders feel comfortable admitting their mistakes (and learning from them) if you choose not to admit yours? It is okay to be human.
- Having realistic expectations. Perfectionists go home. While you should certainly set your standards high for you and your team, if you are a perfectionist, it is probably unreasonable to expect your people to be perfect too. Unrealistic expectations will likely lead to disappointment on your part, not to mention high employee turnover.
- Walking the walk. Don’t ask your team to do anything that you wouldn’t do yourself. If it means taking out the trash, then by all means take out the trash. While it may not be on your daily tick list, your willingness to do menial tasks speaks volumes to your team. Show your people that you are the Chief Everything Officer.
True leaders set the standard of excellence for themselves and those around them; and thus, foster trust and loyalty in their teams. In turn, their people are more apt to follow the lead, work hard and give their all every day.
Another key component to strong leadership is learning to let go. Many business owners feel unable to delegate tasks or duties to other members on their team because they:
- Are comfortable and have become accustomed to performing these tasks.
- Fear the person will make a mistake. So, what if they goof? At least they will learn.
- Worry perhaps that the new person doing a task might do it better. Gasp!
- Are uncertain how they should spend their time now that they have created more of it.
Learning to let go and delegate, not abdicate, is key to leading by example. While it is often simpler to do something yourself just to know it is done the way you want it to be, in the long run, this is a losing approach. Once you start offloading some of your day-to-day tasks (meaning you have trained your people on how to execute them) then you can focus more of your time on building and launching important strategic initiatives like mentoring your team, identifying merger and acquisition activities or developing big account opportunities. Or, here’s an idea, maybe just taking some time off to enjoy family and friends.
Leading by example is hard, but key to the success and development of your business. Identify where you should be spending your time, model how you want your team to behave, then watch as your people blossom and your business prospers.
Need to develop your leadership skills? Reach out to a business coach or a group of other business owners to help you.
By Blair Koch
