2 ways to show up as a better leader

One of my favorite tools for giving feedback (besides SBI which is my ultimate fave) is framing an ask of a team member in terms of “do more” or “do less”.

Because life is all about balance, right?

As managers, we want to think of all of the tools we have at our disposal as dials that we can turn up or down depending on the situation. Someone is feeling stuck, turn up the coaching dial. Someone is really missing the mark on their work, turn up the expectation setting dial.?

Using this lens, on Managing Made Simple this week, I talked about something we want to do LESS of as managers and leaders, and something we want to do MORE of.?

Let’s start with DOING LESS because this is literally going to save you time and money IMMEDIATELY.?

Managers and leaders have to make decisions all of the time, but one thing that can dramatically improve the engagement and sense of personal responsibility (aka accountability aka ownership) on your team or in your business is to make FEWER decisions.?

Why?

When we have to make every decision about every aspect of our team and business…

… people are often waiting for marching orders or decisions when they could have been moving forward, and this idle time starts to really add up in dollars wasted over time

… people start getting in the habit of sitting back and waiting for you to make all of the calls, meaning even if you don’t want to make the decisions, people aren’t going step up and take action

… people don’t feel like we trust them to make decisions or value their inputs

Not. Good. Things.?

Instead, we want to identify the kinds of decisions that only we can make, and spoiler alert, it’s only a handful of them at most - then delegate the rest.?

In Episode 44 of Managing Made Simple, I share a 4 step framework for how to do this.?

<< Check it out here >>

And what do we want to DO MORE of?

Leading with love. Setting the tone for vulnerability on your team, and making it safe for others to do the same.?

This is the act of setting clear expectations and holding your team to high standards, WHILE continually showing up for your team with respect, openness, compassion, and yes, vulnerability.?

When your team doesn’t hit a goal, it’s starting the conversation by sharing where you could have done something better or differently.?

When your team is feeling stuck, you share where you’ve felt stuck and what helped you through it.?

You not only make it ok to be a human, you celebrate it.?

When I heard about framing of “leading with love” from the awesome Chris Hartley , I thought to myself, this is it right here - this is what separates the good teams from the great ones. The ones that even in an economic downturn can rise to the challenge and meet their goals.?

This is what Chris and I talk about in Episode 45 of Managing Made Simple, and I can’t wait for you to tune in.?

<< Check it out here >>

And because we could all use a little motivation, if you want a clear list of 20 things you can do this month and every month to be a better leader and manager, head to?liagarvin.com/scorecard?to grab my Thriving Team Scorecard. This will give you concrete action steps of things you can do every day for the next 20 days to show up better for your team.?