Born Leader?

Some people seem to be born to be a Leader, don’t they??

I’m thinking of John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Alex Ferguson.

For these people, leadership seems to come naturally, it seems like they were always destined for that role and when they get it, it just all fits together, they’re like a swan in the water, majestically floating around.

For others, the ‘born to be a leader’ thing just doesn’t fit.

Maybe you started a business which became successful, and you’ve had to take people on.

Perhaps you worked for someone else and were so good at your job you were promoted to be a leader in their company.

Maybe, for whatever reason, the role of the leader does not come easily to you.?

And that’s a big problem because if there is one thing that all great leaders have in common it is their ability to BE the leader.

What Does It Mean to Be a Leader?

Well, they do NOT spend their time, being the manager, the salesperson, the customer service rep, the accountant and the receptionist.

Do you?

Being a Leader means knowing what it is that other people do well and letting them get on and do it.

It means, knowing when people don’t have the right skills ad organising training or moving them to another role.?

It means trusting people.

It means knowing when and what to delegate.

But above all, it means spending your precious time BEING the leader (not just DOING things).

How well would it work if Richard Branson drove his own trains, or Alex Ferguson had a go in goals, or JFK made lunch for his important guests?

That doesn’t happen, right??

And it’s because those people know their role is not any of those things.

Now I am not saying there aren’t ANY occasions where you wouldn’t do something that one of your team could do.?

Sometimes it is ‘all hands-on-deck’ and it can be motivating to see the leader joining in with the fun run, or speaking to a customer, or answering an email when everyone else has gone home for the night.?

However, your main job as the leader is to BE the leader – be the inspiration, the motivation, the direction of the company and leave the operational and tactical tasks to people better suited to doing them.

Your job is to translate that strategy, into tactics that they can turn into actions to fulfil the task.

And here’s the thing, they might actually be BETTER at that than you.

And even if they aren’t (yet) they might be good enough, and unless it is something that you LOVE to do and want to do – why would YOU do it, if someone else can??

We worked with one client who’s challenging and – to some – argumentative style, was not helped by her micromanagement and general interference in unnecessary things. She was feared and disliked in equal proportion.?

Micromanagement brings fear, stress and a lack of risk taking or stepping up to a team.? They don’t want to be seen to do something wrong, so they do nothing, or wait for your call. ? This means you will have to get involved when you really don’t want to. It’s a vicious cycle as they do less, and you have to do more.?

Here’s the 10 minute live I did on the subject of why you might end up in the micromanaging trap: https://www.dhirubhai.net/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6930483184308502528/

What we need to do is to create three things in our teams:

• Engagement
• Enablement
• Excitement

We want them to be able to do something, to want to do it, and to know why they are doing it.??

When this happens, we trust them to perform, and they trust us to have their backs.?

This creates Confidence, Collaboration and Commitment and means that your team is going to deliver an excellent product, with certainty and clarity.? You can step back and get on with your strategy and they can help you fulfil it.?

And if you would like some help in developing that Confidence, Collaboration and Commitment in your team, then get in touch and we can show you how we can help.?

Julie.?

Julie "Chief Impact Engineer" Hutchison

[email protected]

P.S.?Whenever you are ready...here are 4 ways I can help you increase your impact as a leader:

1. Join The "Quiet Leaders Lab? Facebook Group and?connect with other leaders who want to grow

It's our Facebook community where those that are The Quiet Leaders can learn and share how to increase their impact, influence and outcomes --?Click here

2. Grab a free copy of my leadership impact report: The Team Performance Engine?

It’s the Road Map to your journey to increasing your impact as a leader -Click here

3. Join our Leaders Launchpad??Mastermind Group Programme

This Mastermind is a selected group of like-minded leaders,?in an online community, focused on growing your results.??With training, group coaching calls, guest speakers and more, supporting?and challenging you to design?and implement real team performance in your business.

Send me a message or email [email protected] with "IMPLEMENT" in the subject line and we can discuss how you can join us

4. Work with me and my team privately

If you or your team just need a little more one to one attention to make change happen in your business... just message and put "PRIVATE"?in the subject line... tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!