What is leadership? How do I lead effectively? What are my leadership styles?
Leadership is the behavior of a person that empowers others to participate in achieving a shared goal. Leadership is in fact majorly based on a built relationship gained by a leader to effectively influence followers. Leadership is shown by what you do, not what you say. It is shown by how you communicate, build relationships, and build trust.
Let’s look at types of leadership:
Personal Leadership
Consistently displaying a positive outlook and willingly dealing with the stress and complexities of various situations
Integrating information from other sources to evaluate alternatives and make effective decisions
People Leadership
Motivating others and clearly communicating how each person can contribute to the objectives.
Result Leadership
Meeting or exceeding goals, making difficult decisions, acting on opportunities that create value
Living Leadership
Applying leadership to situations and challenges
Questions to ask yourself to determine if you are leading effectively:
Do I model the way?
Am I always authentic?
Do I bring energy to the room?
Do I treat people as humans and not resources?
Are my actions and words aligned with the brand of my company?
Do I lead with an entrepreneur mindset?
Do I have clear non-negotiables?
Here are a few leadership styles to consider and remember, be aware of their pros and cons.
Transactional
Pro: Provides structure and Stability
Con: Limits creativity, growth, and initiative
Transformational
Pro: Gives team autonomy to do their jobs
Con: Disrupts the status quo
Collaborative
Pro: More creative, innovative ways of thinking
Con: May lead to ambiguity in roles and responsibilities
Servant
Pro: Reduces turnover and disengagement
Con: Can easily become burnt out
Coaching
Pro: Focuses on being supportive, not judgmental
Con: Doesn’t always lead to the fastest, most efficient results
I challenge each of you to be mindful of your leadership role and exercise everything you expect from your team and show collaboration and consideration.
Carry the Brand of unlimited possibilities. Being a leader and coach, see your team have unlimited possibilities and not try to live up to your expectations. Give everyone an A and not a standard to live up to. Be willing to be coached by them as well as coach. Always allow your team to create their success and not just be a follower.
Finally, I challenge each of you to be mindful of the shadow you cast.
As a leader, accountability and value add are critical in my eyes and that’s the shadow I cast.