Leadership Now & Forever

As we head towards November I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership and what I have learned over the years leading teams and working with and for other leaders in the organizations I’ve been part of.  I’ve seen many examples of good and bad leaders and have been part of corporate cultures that either protect or address poor leadership.  I’ve also seen this in the same cultures but differences within teams or at different periods of time.  When bad leadership is protected you will second guess your own value system because you’ll be confused why bad decisions are being made and not addressed.  I do think it’s important to recognize that no leader is always good, they are human, it’s not possible.  But good leaders should have a track record of showing that they are learning from mistakes and growing.  Leaders are a representation of us, we allow them to be there as we allow ourselves to be led under good leadership.  And we do have the right to speak up when we don’t see it.  Every good leader should understand this responsibility of being representative of the people who they lead and an obligation to maximize their potential.  What I'd say about great leadership is that there ARE universals, and you should consider how each leader exhibits these behaviors when you consider who you want to be led by: 

1. Do they listen to the voice and the pulse of the people who they lead and do they work towards bridging divides or creating divides.
2. Can they admit mistakes. Leaders have to make calls to progress.  There are limitless possibilities to solve any problem so the outcome may not always be what's intended.  But can they admit a mistake and course correct, versus deflect and distract and continue to repeat the mistake. 
3. Do they put experts around them, people smarter than them, and do they listen to them or fire them when the expert opinion doesn't match their political agenda.  Do they welcome disagreement so they can find the closest thing to truth. 
4. Do they understand that their power is a responsibility given to them by the PEOPLE who they lead and that their responsibility is to serve them, not themselves 
5. They understand that their words do matter.  I think many of us have been taught that our word is everything.  If you say it and mean it people trust you.  If you say it and then do the opposite then your word means nothing.  
6. They have clarity on what the team's purpose is and where to focus in order to make the biggest impact to the most important problems. 
7. They are hyper focussed on what's happening socially-politically and how this may be impacting the team and providing open forums and a safe place to speak up, voice concerns or to just know those on the team impacted have the support of the team and leadership.
8. They actively pursue building diverse, inclusive teams and constantly check themselves for bias.

These should be common sense but if you are silenced by bad leadership it’s not always easy to see it clearly, and it’s hard to speak up.  But these are times to speak up.  Use your voice and hold your leaders accountable to lead you in the way they should.