Reflections on Leadership

Gareth Southgate’s resignation as manager of the England football team was big news – the kind of story commentators in the business press love to pick up.? This is often in the guise of drawing parallels between success in sport and in business.? Cynics might say it has more to do with business wanting to be noticed, standing next to the subject of the bigger story in vicarious relevance.? Personally, I have met many successful people in different sectors and, without a doubt, there were lessons to be learned from all of them.

Mr Southgate’s conduct in the performance of his role set a fine example – an example of leadership as opposed to management.? He often faced hostile and personal criticism, in public, and in the pressurised environment of the highest level of the most popular sport on the planet.? He remained calm, consistent and true to his principles throughout, bowing out when he no longer felt able to deliver everything the role demanded of him.? Those that worked with him and played for him had only good things to say – a rare thing in any walk of life.? So, surely there are lessons here.? What might they be?

This is a blog, not a management textbook, so I’m going to avoid the language of management and discussion of perceived leadership styles, which after all just describe different behaviours in diverse circumstances.? I don’t like labels or categories.

These are my reflections on what I think are key leadership behaviours, which certainly applied to Mr Southgate.

Set the example

Leaders must encourage others to emulate them.?Consistent behaviour, language, action, and demeanour are predictable and reliable, and they build trust.? It may not be exciting, but it works long-term!

Leave the ego at home

Someone else in the room will be funnier, smarter or whatever else, compared to your natural state.? You are not in competition with them. ?Avoid acting and be yourself. ?Like a good reporter, focus on the story.? Don’t try to be the story.? Your job is to create the environment for everyone else to succeed, not to come out on top as an individual.

Be transparent and honest – build relationships?

My father gave me this advice 30 years ago and I live by it.? If you play games with other people, they will play games with you.? You will never know where you really stand and you will never be able to rely on the support of other people, or have them believe you support them.? If you are honest with people and give reasons for your views and actions, they will respect you for it, even when they don’t agree or like the decisions you have made.? All successful relationships are built on mutual exchange of information, understanding and shared experience.

Be clear and be visible

Poor communication can set anything backwards or even break it.? Understanding of a message is often wrongly assumed.? Use simple clear language in all communications and check others’ understanding.? Listen to others and check your own understanding.? Keep an agreed record, especially of any agreements or actions, then adhere to them consistently.? Make as much information as you can as widely available as you can and then direct your people towards it.

Trust and empowerment

Most people thrive on responsibility, autonomy and achievement of goals with appropriate support and guidance.? None of us like someone looking over our shoulder when trying to do complete a task.? Often, especially if there is a big gap in seniority, the more junior person will fail to perform at their usual level.? You can stand back a little and still know everything that is going on, providing guidance when it is needed or requested.? There may be many different ways of achieving the desired outcome.

Keep getting better

Individual careers are not infinite.? They have a beginning, middle and end and the pace of learning and development will be different according to the career stage.? That said, we should never close our minds and stop learning at any stage, whether professionally or personally.? It is how we adapt, how we absorb change and how we succeed.? No group of people can progress if led by someone who is closed to learning and change.

Understand timing

There is a right and wrong time for everything.? What leaders do and say sounds louder regardless of intention, so it is important to be aware of what else is going on for individuals or groups of people. ?Ideas, decisions and actions have to be sown like seeds in to fertile ground. And sometimes you have to prepare the ground.? This is also true of relationships over time, which can be weaker or stronger depending on the circumstances and challenges being faced.? Know where you are in the cycle and try to make improvements.

Be brave

I don’t mean to proceed with reckless abandon.? Being brave in a business context means operating out of the comfort zone, accepting that it is your role to deal with difficult situations or make hard decisions, which will not please everyone.? Sometimes it is a question of choosing from a number of options when none of the outcomes are desirable.? Accepting this responsibility is difficult.? It does not get easier but can be accepted and sustained.

Make yourself at home

We all want to belong.? That’s what culture really means – a group of people banding together around a set of shared core beliefs, behaving in accordance with them.? Leaders should define and stand up for those values.

Be grateful

Never take things or people for granted.? Gratitude is vital, mutually supportive and affirming.? We all want to be recognised for what we do, even if it is in private and without public fanfare.? Say thank you often. We have many reasons to be grateful.? Celebrate success in others.? It all adds up to a better whole.

Why?

Most businesses, rightly, will have carefully considered and eloquently expressed visions, values and plans.? The importance of a shared goal and common endeavour is perhaps obvious.? I like to keep things simple.? We do what we do to make the world a better place – and I say that seriously.? We want every interaction with our business to be positive.? We are truly independent and we don’t have to make outside interests a priority. Collectively, we want to make a real difference for our own people, our customers and our communities – and keep doing it.