Stick to the BEAT

Hello #PET of the week fans. Last week we talked about Types of Change. Remember? Paint by Numbers and King Arthurs Quest. This week we want to share BEAT with you to help you lead your type of change well. Leadership courses mostly focus on specific elements or traits. Here on QUBE we think you need to adapt your leadership depending on what it is you're leading.

Imagine you are leading a team through the Fog and all they want to know is What to do and by When. This requires you to demonstrate certain behaviours, emotions, actions and thoughts to ensure they don't all start panicking and get stressed when they realise they are in the Fog. A top tip is to find the smallest amount of activity you can be certain of and turn that into a paint by numbers action.

The reverse is also true. You have big Paint by Numbers project but your team are all creatives and feel very uninspired by this big 'to do' list that doesn't require any creative thinking. If you leave them to it they will create merry havoc trying to make the project more interesting for them. And so you need to adjust your style to ensure success.

So once you have worked out the type of change you have it's a jolly good idea to then work out both your preference and the preferences of your team. If you are leading something that is uncomfortable for you, then changing your style will be needed to lead well as you neither want to appear bored or panicked if it's not your preferred type of change . If you are leading something that is your preference but not the preference of the team then again you need to reflect on your style and what you need to change to meet the needs of the team. This will help you both lead the team in a way that will work for them (particularly if the type of change isn't their preference) and also to see what gaps you might have and need to recruit into. If you're brave do this together as a team. And then look at the leadership that is needed for Behaviours, Emotions, Action and Thought. We call it Leadership BEAT.

What type of change are you leading just now? What is your BEAT and what might you need to start or stop doing for each of the BEAT steps to be a great leader?