What makes a good leader?

Do they lead? Or do they support?

I’ve often admired people for being good leaders, but if I was asked to define one, I think I’d struggle. Or perhaps I’d struggle to not make them sound like some sort of medieval king / William Wallace type character, the strapping knight/warrior who’s willing to die for his people.

I’ve even asked those who I consider to be good leaders and their first response is ‘I don’t know’, then after some gentle nudging they’ve started to define what they consider to be valuable traits.

Through research there seems to be several types of leaders, from ones who lead by example and those who empower people around them to rise through, take the lead and others who are less than exemplary!

My challenge is trying to define what type of leader I want to be.

For those who have known me for some years will have seen that I’ve changed, to quote Ricky Gervais ‘not as much as Caitlyn Jenner’ but I’ve transitioned into more a leadership style role.

In some cases, very hands off, but more recently very hands on.

This is causing me moments of ‘oh okay, what now?!’

I’m looking at what skills I lack so I know what I need to be aware of, as well as asking myself ‘What type of leader do I want to be?’

There are certain attributes that come naturally to me, as well as others which will be outside of my comfort zone, and I’ll need to develop them.

Example being when to deliver bad news, say someone is under performing. Never a nice situation which I have been in a few times in my career but never in a company with a big team. How will that one decision impact the team? How do I turn a negative and make it a positive?

I’ve never been much a of ‘shouter’ (someone who rips into someone else to get their point across), which in most of the business I get involved with seems to be the default mode.

So, what is a leader?

Well logic would probably point at it being the person who goes first but it that really the case?

I suppose leading would mean you’re at the front, but is that in the sense of ‘do as I do, and follow me’? Seems counter-intuitive. As in if everyone follows then where’s the initiative? Where’s the team that takes the business forward?

If I was to define how I’d like my role to be perceived, I’d start by saying ‘it’s not about me, it’s about the team’. I’d like to empower others to do their best work and if you’ve ever listened to anything by Simon Sinek then you’ll know people do their best work in the safest environment.

This term ‘safest environment’ is problematic as it points towards as works place where no-one is ever wrong, no-one can ever screw up and there are no consequences.

I’d like to challenge this, as safest for me is where everyone trusts each other and are in it together.

Anyone can turn ‘bad’ if put in the wrong environment, even ‘good’ people.

I see my role as being the person who enables to ‘safe’ environment, who manages the environment of the people around them. Ensuring they have the training required to progress in their career, take on challenges and situations they have never been in before. All of which means people, while yes they can ‘fail’ and try again, it’s not consequence free, It’s just controlling the elements of the environment that we can control. Inflation is rising, competition is fierce and outside influences are ever present, but if you’re in a position where mass lay-offs are a true possibility then I’d struggle to see how you can deliver your best.

With all this in mind I have a strong feeling that I’ll get it wrong more times than I’ll get it right.

And if anything, I’ll learn a hell of a lot along the way.

My learning, while continuous, starts now this is a new subject of learning. I’ve started to implement a morning routine which includes some reflection and possibly self-reassertion!

I answer four questions

1.??????Who am I?

2.??????What do I do?

3.??????How do I make a difference?

4.??????What will I do today that really matters?

Surprisingly simple yet difficult questions to answer.

My answers have often surprised me.

Big bold acts have had little or no impact while very small acts of simple kindness have created a ripple effect.

It’s in these very early stages of my leadership career that I’ve decided to focus on the small things, these are making the biggest amount of difference at this point. I have no doubt that there will be bigger and scarier issues I must face which may require a different approach but while it’s not broke, I’m not going to fix it.

If you’ve got this far, thank you so much for ready my rambling. I do hope you were able to take something from them.

I’m wanting to write more and will be going forward. I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing, sometimes my emails, posts or blogs are often more therapeutic for me rather than packed full of value for the reader. You (I’ll work on this I promise).

Let me know your thoughts on these blasts, and of course if there is anything you like me to write about then just drop me a line.

My name is James Doubtfire.

I love to play golf, drink beer and go to the gym … (in that order ??)

I also love discussing all things business, working on ideas and bringing innovation to industry.

Want to meet? Use this link to book a call with me.