A New Framework for Creating Better Leaders

If you follow me, you know I’m passionate about creating a new era in leadership. This approach is a departure from command-and-control leadership, punitive hierarchies and toxic workplaces.?

I know I can’t do it alone. So I’ve created the Themy LEADER framework to amplify and train to the six leadership values needed for the modern workplace:

Learning

Empathy

Authenticity

Diversity

Empowerment

Resilience

I’ve attached my LEADER framework to a simple pledge that anyone can sign, as long as they agree with the six values articulated in it. I require all of my performance coaching clients to sign the pledge too, as a I train to these values and want to ensure we’re aligned. You can review the pledge here: https://www.themyllc.com/the-pledge .

My objective is to create a movement involving millions of leaders who are committed to doing things differently. If we teach people a new way of leading, that approach will infiltrate organizations and change how we work.

Here’s a guide to my six values in the LEADER framework and how you can incorporate each today:

LEARNING

The best leaders are learners. This means more than reading about the latest management techniques or listening to podcasts. That type of learning is important, but when I say “learning,” I mean more. Real learning in the workplace is about being a good listener and observer. It’s about stepping out of our own stress and chaos and making time to really see the people who work with us. Learning on this level requires us to be observant and do some fact finding.

??Learning Tip: Notice when your employees are working. Do you see them frequently returning emails late at night? When you look at their PTO balances, are they taking PTO? Are they uncharacteristically short-tempered?

Those are rational indicators that the workload is too much. When you see something, say something. “Hey, Pete. I notice you’ve been returning emails at all hours of the night. How’s your workload?” Or “Jen, I was just looking at your PTO balance, and I noticed you haven’t taken time off in awhile. I’d really like to see you take some time off to recharge. How can I help you with that?”

Asking questions like this shows that you see your people. It’s the basis for creating psychological safety which is a critical pre-cursor to trust. It gives your people the opportunity to give feedback on workload. Understand that you may have to ask multiple times before people open up to you. That’s ok. Keep asking. You’re building a healthy relationship and shedding masks.

EMPATHY

Empathy is a much talked about quality these days and for good reason. Let’s start with basics and look at the definition of empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

A recent Gallup poll showed that only 24% say their employer cares about their well being. Furthermore, a new Pew Research Center survey polled workers who left a job in 2021. Among people who quit jobs, 57% said they left because they felt disrespected.

This isn’t a weakness problem. Employees aren’t snowflakes who need to just toughen up. We leaders need to communicate empathy regularly and listen to the feedback we receive. That feedback gives us insight to act accordingly.

??Empathy Tip: Start by giving every employee the benefit of the doubt. We’ve all been there: someone misses a deadline, and our go-to mode is Defcon 1. We allow our stress to take over and imagine heads rolling.

Instead, try a different approach. Calm down, take a few breaths and repeat “benefit of the doubt” in your head a few times. Then, reach out to the employee and say, “Hey, I noticed you missed your deadline. Is something up with you? I’m just reaching out to see if there is something I should know. I want to know how I can help you?”?

?Be prepared for a logical explanation. I asked this question once and learned the employee was going through a very difficult time in her personal life. She needed a few days to gather herself. We shifted her deadlines to accommodate, and she came back to work ready to go. That exchange also opened up a new era in our relationship. She learned that she could be open with me, and I wouldn’t punish her for it.

AUTHENTICITY

People gravitate towards authentic leaders. They want to know that you’re like them, warts and all. Authenticity requires us to trust each other and drop our personas and masks. We show up at work the way we show up at home and in life.

As leaders, it’s our job to make people feel safe enough to be themselves. The best way to accomplish that is by being ourselves.

??Authenticity Tip. One of the quickest ways to establish authenticity is to own your mistakes publicly. When you make a mistake, admit it to your team and tell them what you learned from it. This creates an environment where failure is welcome – as long as people learn from it. Without failure there can be no innovation.

People need to feel safe enough to risk, fail, learn, revise and try again without repercussions. A leader owning their mistakes is a strong basis for crafting an authentic culture where people can be themselves.

DIVERSITY

?I believe diversity is critical for the bottom line because it leads to innovation. Many companies talk a good game on diversity, but a lot of it is just talk. We humans are obsessed with our own comfort. Bringing new people into the fold can feel like a threat to that.

We leaders need to push people out of their comfort zones. When we hire, we need to insist diverse candidates are in the mix. This is especially true when we see homogenous teams. This isn’t about filling quotas. It’s about being thorough in our searches and development of talent pipelines. This is insurance for innovation.

??Diversity Tip. Let’s say you work in a company where the marketing leadership is all male and white. The entire marketing team reports to you. You’re launching a search to add a critical VP to the team. Your first step is to align your direct reports with your expectations about the search. ?

That goes like this: “Scott, I know we’re starting our search for that VP Marketing Operations role. Let me be clear: I want a female of color in that role. Our entire team is way too similar. We need to start adding some different perspectives so we can look and think more like the customers we serve.”

?Then, keep checking on progress towards landing a diverse hire. You want to reinforce the message that you won’t forget about this. People can’t take the safe route and make an easy, comfortable hire. You also won’t fall for the “we couldn’t find any good Black, Latinx, Asian, etc. candidates” excuse.

Once you land that diverse hire, your work isn’t done. Now, the work of ensuring inclusion starts. Set up regular meetings with the new hire to establish psychological safety and get real feedback on how things are going. Is she being included in major decisions? Does she have the runway and freedom she needs to make things happen? What microaggressions is she experiencing, and how can you help?

EMPOWERMENT

?The goal of empowerment is to make people stronger and more confident in their responsibilities and endeavors. As leaders, we empower by being present but stepping back. No one likes to be micromanaged. It’s all too common and feels disrespectful. It undermines your employees’ confidence and makes it hard for them to develop.

As leaders for this era in business, you want to manage outcomes rather than approach. There are infinite ways to get to an end result. You define the outcome you want and let the employee get there. It’s likely they won’t do it ‘your way,’ and that’s the point of work. You hire different types of people and pay them for their unique ways of thinking.

??Empowerment Tip. When assigning a project, define what a win looks like. You want to paint a picture of the ideal outcome. Let your employee know your door is always open for advice and questions as they pursue the agreed upon outcome. Then, for the most part, back away. Empower your employee to pursue their responsibilities without excessive input.

Check in a few time to see how it’s going and if you can assist. Do they need any resources you can help with? You’re role is to advise and support, not do.

RESILIENCE

Resilience is all about recovering from setbacks. It’s predicated on mindset. If you think you can bounce back from a challenge, you will. If you don’t, you won’t.

The modern workplace is a machine for crushing people’s spirits and their ability to recover from failure. At most companies, organizational memory is long. These cultures force people to wear their failures and mistakes like a scarlet letter, sometimes for decades.

Dramatically shortening that organizational memory is key.

??Resilience Tip. I often remind my people that we WILL fail. it’s inevitable and a sign that we’re trying. As long as we’re learning every step of the way and using that knowledge to inform decisions, it’s all good.

Celebrate failure. That’s right. In front of everyone, I want you to call out someone on your team who failed. I want you to celebrate it as a courageous act of learning. Remember: leaders are learners. Then, ask the person who failed to share with they learned and how they’ll use it to inform next steps or other initiatives.

In doing this, you’re normalizing failure as part of a healthy business. More importantly, you’re creating psychological safety for people to fail.

By no means is this the entire playbook for my LEADER framework, but it’s a good kick start to anyone who wants to lead in a more contemporary and relevant way. Stay tuned for more pages in the playbook.

In the meantime, if you like what you’ve read here, sign the Themy Pledge for a new era in leadership: https://www.themyllc.com/the-pledge . When you sign, you’re eligible for exclusive training only for people who have joined the movement.

If you’re a leader in your company and would like more information on corporate training with my LEADER framework, email me at [email protected] .