Now isn’t that a thought-provoking question!!
I’d love to have been the creator and the author of this question, but I’m not. But I just think it’s so powerful. And I’ve used it with many of my clients over the last period of time and it really caused some deep reflection
The question is again – what is it about you that makes you a leader worth following?
It’s such a powerful question. And it’s such a tough question to answer.
As you know from listening to me over the years, I get really upset when the words leading, coaching and managing are used interchangeably – as if they are the same things – but they are not! We lead and coach people and we manage process and things!! At least that’s my view of the world and I always find the separation helpful in my career.
When you’re talking about leadership and managing, the word manager comes in many titles of jobs- you can be a General Manager, IT Manager, Sales Manager, Customer Service Manager.
But you don’t hear the word leader in titles so often. That’s because it doesn’t come with the title. You can only be a leader if you’ve got followers. And that’s why that question is such a powerful question.
I want to share with you a piece from Brene Brown, a lady whose work I absolutely adore and it’s from her book, Dare to Lead.
She says – “ I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding potential in people and who has the courage to develop that potential.” And that is just brilliant.
Because that encapsulates what leadership is all about.
It is about developing and optimizing potential. It’s about working and coaching with people to really ensure that they are fulfilling and realizing the potential that they have.
So, the question that I want you to reflect upon as you go through today is that same question – what is it about me that makes me a leader worth following?
Questions to reflect upon:
Have I made the vision clear?
Am I clear about the vision? Am I really clear?
If somebody asked me the question right now, can I articulate that very, very clearly? If somebody were to go to any of my team members, would they be able to articulate it very, very clearly because it’s my responsibility to ensure that they are clear.
So are we clear about the vision?
Let’s talk about values. I’m sure you have espoused values that you want to live up to in your organization or your team.
Are you the walking embodiment of that?
Can people look at you and say, yes, there is no gap between, what John says, as a leader, and what he actually does day to day?
Because if there is that gap, then what happens in that gap is that trust gets destroyed. Because you are not living to what you say. And there is an incongruity between the two.
So, challenge yourself: What is it about me that makes me a leader worth following?
If you want to get some ideas to jog your mind, I wrote a book a couple years ago called the 10 Key Traits of Top Business Leaders.
In the book, I talk about the traits that leaders need to espouse. It’s completely based on the work that I’ve done with thousands of leaders across the globe.
If you’re interested in it, you can just comment with the word “book” and your email address, and we will send it to you.
So, your reflection for today is – what is it about me that makes me a leader worth following?
Reflect on that today and take some action to ensure that you’re doing what you need to do to make sure that you are being an effective leader.
Talk real soon.