Learning to Lead

When I think about how I want to be known, inspirational leader is at the top of the list. Whether you are talking to my children, co-workers or friends, I want them to say that I helped them to be their best. This is what makes me tick. This is what I am incredibly passionate about. I am a helper bee and want to help people to succeed.

Some people are natural born leaders. As much as I would love to say that I fit into that category, the truth is that I don’t. Being a leader is something that I work on constantly. Early in my career all of my success came from delivering results. I was a “doer” and I got things done. As I progressed in my career, I got the opportunity to lead a team. Suddenly, all of the skills that had gotten me into my new role were not the same ones that I needed to be successful moving forward. I began feeling like I was working harder than ever but not getting the results I wanted. Why weren’t the team and I achieving the things we set out to accomplish?

This is when I first made the differentiation between managing and leading.

I wanted my team to feel empowered. I wanted them to identify opportunities, own it and see it through to completion. I wanted them to act with a sense of urgency. The problem? My actions didn’t support this. I wasn’t leading them.

When issues arose, my “doer” instincts kicked in and I would roll up my sleeves and get things done. When there were questions, I gave answers. When there was new work that needed to get done, I gave them instructions on how to do it. I was involved in everything. The team was hesitant to act on things without my input.  I thought I was helping by protecting them from potentially failing but in reality I was micromanaging. As a result, the team was not feeling fulfilled (I mean who gets fulfillment out of carrying out instruction after instruction?) I was overwhelmed and felt like I was drowning. There was so much going on and I didn’t have enough time to get it all done. I didn’t want to or need to be part of every decision but wasn’t sure how to get out of my own way.

Understanding the difference between managing and leading was step 1.  Acknowledging that I wasn’t leading was step 2.  Changing my approach was step 3.

I’m still a work in progress but I definitely am heading in the right direction. So, what have I done to change? Here are a few things I feel are critical to being a great leader:

• GIVE DIRECTION, NOT INSTRUCTIONS: Instead of telling the team what to do, discuss the end result that you need to achieve and why. Once you give them context, let them come up with the approach. The methods that my team have come up with to solve some of the items we’ve been challenged with are way better that anything I could have come up with on my own.  They are the experts — put their expertise to use!
• ENCOURAGE THEM TO THINK THINGS THROUGH: When questions arise and the team comes to you for help, ask for their proposed solution. They get to be part of solving the problem (which is much more fulfilling) and you get to understand how they think about things, which can help determine where further training might be needed. I call that a win-win!
• BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE:  If you want the team to focus on driving efficiencies, take a look at your role and how you can drive efficiencies in what you do.  Whatever it is you are trying to change, consistently demonstrate how you’ve embodied the change day in and day out. Communicate what you are trying to change and why.  Recognize others on the team who exude these behaviors. By continually linking these behaviors to success, they will begin to be part of the team DNA.
• POSITIVE VIBES ONLY: The energy you give off is the energy your team is going to give off.  It’s contagious. If you walk around with the weight of the world on your shoulders, the team is going to feel the burden too.  Choosing to SMILE and approach each situation with a positive mindset is truly a game changer.

Give it a whirl and hopefully you will feel as invigorated and motivated as I do! 🙂