A Leader’s S.U.R.E.; The 4 Keys to Being Sure Before Reacting to Your Emotion-of-the-Minute!
Andre Young
Leadership & Work/Life Harmony Speaker, Author, Leadership Trainer, & Founder of You Evolving Now, LLC
As a leader within an organization, there are many things to be grateful for: a high-paying salary, a title, perhaps a nice office, and many other perks. The truth is, there’re also as many things that will prove to annoy the heck out of you: employees being late to meetings or virtual calls, your people consistently ignoring rules, negative gossip, not meeting metrics, or simply and most powerfully… not following through! I’ve found Follow-Through to be one of the most important factors of a great employee, a great leader, and culture of an organization. There are more factors, but people doing what they said they were going to do, being where they said they were going to be, and succeeding on a goal that was their idea or someone else’s is a great form of leadership! However, you know like I know, this won’t always be the case… at times, your people will falter, will be late, won’t show, etc. In times like these… the first thing to do is to be S.U.R.E. their lack of follow-through isn’t your fault! So, how to do it?
I recently led through this situation in my non-profit, The Andre Young Foundation. I’m honored to be a Professional Speaker, Author, and worldwide Leadership Trainer… that success allowed me to start my own charity; helping families in my community. We started a new venture, awarding a single parent going through divorce or separation who has or desired to start their own business with an Entrepreneurial Award; offering marketing services, business coaching, and more… an exciting time! Our Board met with candidates, selected the winner, and I reached out personally to the Would-Be Winner and my Assistant with the scheduled Zoom Meeting Link and Date. The Zoom Time comes, the Board is all on the call, … and crickets!
Disappointed and frustrated, the first thing I needed to do was make S.U.R.E. the mishap wasn’t on my end… did I give the correct date, time, and was the link correct, was it sent to all parties? I cross-checked with my Assistant and saw I said “Monday”, but the date was a Sunday, however it was sent correctly to the Recipient… and all agreed and checked “Accept”. Yes, I did make a mistake that the “World’s Best Assistant” caught and corrected… and the gentleman later replied and apologized that he was preparing for his kids' first day of school and the meeting totally slipped his mind… anyone with kids, especially single-parents, understands that!
Unfortunately, he also missed the rescheduled meeting, Lol! In my world… One Miss = Grace, Two Misses = Next! I share this story to emphasize sometimes you will be leading for all the right reasons and in all the right ways and it may not turn out the way you envisioned in your head… the process of being S.U.R.E. will get you through; protecting your leadership, your reputation, and lead to a more evolved way of doing things you could have never imagined! So, what’s S.U.R.E.?
S. – Sure Conversation!
Are you sure you had “The Conversation” and provided all necessary details to your leaders, employees, organization, etc.? In our chaotic days of endless emails, virtual calls, conversations in the hallways, phone calls, and more… sometimes the conversation you had was in YOUR head, NOT with the person! If you did have the conversation, was it clear, concise, and did you provide The What, When, and How? When the conversation or task is available for questioning and fine-tuning… is it a safe space to discuss; allowing theory and application to marry? Long story short, did you share all necessary information in a clear manner or give your people/team permission to create?
U. - Understanding!
As a person in a leadership position, you may have more knowledge, familiarity, and process-oriented understanding of what you’re saying, what you’re asking, and what you mean… do they? Does the person you’re sharing information with actually understand the words, jargon, and acronyms your using? Do they understand the magnitude of the task or opportunity? Do they fully understand the positive consequences of following through successfully and the negative consequences of not?
My son plays quarterback and has great skills; however, he’s a softer-spoken person. He’s “The Example Leader” Type… gets the job done, more quiet, and supportive of his teammates behind the scenes. However, his coaches admire and want “The Motivator Type”… the more rah-rah and rally type of team leader. No harm, no foul… they’re the boss and can like and want whatever they wish. However, it would be unfair for the coaches to tell my son they want to see him “Lead” the team better and not explain what they mean by “Lead”… while he may be thinking he’s doing a great job but gets benched! As a leader, be S.U.R.E. your words are actually as clear and understandable out of your mouth as they were to you in your head!
R. – Reasonable Expectations
As a leader, whatever you’re expecting from your employees, your bosses, your organization, your significant other, your kids, etc… is it reasonable for who they are and what they have going on!
For example, are you asking the employee you trust most, “The Closer” to operate at 1000% on everything you continue to dump on their desk, not fully knowing their list, for an indefinite period of time, without burning out?
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I once worked with a woman; she was a single mother of three and the only one that could get her kids to school. Although her friends could help from time to time; was it reasonable she could make it to work at 8:00am sharp every day? No, but it really didn’t help her case that she came in late every day with food, Lol!
In the story I shared with the would-be winner of the award, would it be reasonable to make the meeting Monday through Friday at 4:00pm with him being a single father with kids coming home from school? Heck no! Therefore, it was set for Sunday at 7:00pm… and he had the opportunity to show us who he really was!
E. – Expectation of Leadership Types!
Is it reasonable for my son’s coaches to expect “The Motivator” behavior from an “Example Type”? Sure, however only to a certain degree… especially to start! They have a right to a preference and also a duty to know and respect the positives of other styles. It’s my son’s job to know and understand what they mean by “Lead the team” and marry how he leads with what they want to see… just a bit out of his comfort zone; as not to come off fake and wind up resenting the task, his coaches, and losing his players! Respecting and refining your style and the style of those you’re leading is leadership… and will pay dividends in your Leadership & Work/Life Harmony and theirs!
In my Trainings, books, and more I share the 5 Types of Leaders; The Pros & Cons of Each Type. Remember, a great leader is all 5 given the person or situation that calls for it. However, we all have two types that really resonate with who we are at our core. My son in this story is The Example & The Connector! For your notes, here’s the 5:
Now you know how to be S.U.R.E. before responding to your emotion-of-the-minute; as it may be easier to criticize, be frustrated, reprimand, write-up, or sometimes even fire before ever checking to be S.U.R.E. mistakes and confusion didn’t originate on your end. Enjoy your evolution!!!
“As a leader, be S.U.R.E. your words are actually as clear and understandable out of your mouth as they were in your head… Be Mindful!”
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Written by: Andre Young
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