Unwrap the Gifts of Leadership

The workplace is like a playground where we get to play with ideas and try out new roles and identities every day. If you approach work with an attitude of having fun and are open to learning new things about yourself and others, you will receive many valuable gifts of leadership. Each leadership gift presents a conundrum, which only you can “unwrap” for yourself. To do so, consider your unique values, strengths, tolerances, and circumstances.

Below are a few leadership gifts that are waiting to be unwrapped by you. Use the questions provided to tear away the gift wrap, revealing a gift that is chosen uniquely for you:

Ego Equilibrium
Definition: The ability to balance service to others and the group while honoring your own vision and values.

Reflection:
• How do you lead without being the focus of attention?
• How do you move an agenda forward without thinking you must do the work yourself or your way?
• How can you be authentic while playing the multiple roles required of a leader?
• How do you commit to your organization without compromising core personal beliefs?
• How can you maintain leader status without losing accessibility?



Flexibility
Definition: The ability to modify, yield, or adapt plans to relevant changes in circumstances.

Reflection:
• How do you position your employees and your company to pivot when circumstances change?
• How do you regularly challenge your own assumptions about what is true?
• When is it more important to forego adapting in favor or stability?
• When is it more important to forego stability in favor or adaptation or change?
• What are your non-negotiables in any given situation?



Humility
Definition: The ability to maintain a modest perception of one’s own importance

Reflection:
• How can you remain confident in your decisions and abilities and legitimately seek feedback from others?
• How do you accept and incorporate personal feedback and remain confident?
• How do you seek input from others and remain decisive?
• Admit mistakes and misjudgments while inspiring confidence?
• How do you ensure others understand your vision without dictating the details for how it should be carried out?



Resilience
Definition: The ability to recover or bounce back from adverse circumstances

Reflection:
• How do you remain optimistic and realistic at the same time?
• How do you reframe specific setbacks as opportunities?



Innovation
Definition: Seeking or introducing new or different ideas and methodologies

Reflection:
• How do you maintain solid operational processes or corporate identity while encouraging “no limits” creativity and innovation?
• How do you accept both success and failure?
• How do you avoid “throwing the baby out with the bath water”?
• How do you avoid compromising for mediocrity?


Throughout this winter season, unwrap at least one leadership gift for yourself and enjoy.

The Bumpy Road of Managing People

So.  You went for that management job or started your own business, eh?  Guess what?  You are no longer the focus of your work life -- other people are.  Are you sure you wanna do this?

You probably didn’t plan your career this way – at least not consciously so.  If you had wanted to “work with people” and make THEM the focus of your career, you would have chosen a “helping” profession like social worker, teacher, or nurse or doctor.

But you weren’t necessarily people focused to begin with.

Instead, you started out in engineering, business operations, marketing, carpentry, accounting, forestry, horticulture, engine repair, the culinary arts . . . . something focused on an interest, talent, or skill that was easy for or of interest to you.  While it’s true that people use the products and services provided by these occupations, these jobs aren’t really known as “people-oriented”, are they?

Now, you find yourself in a position to manage people, not because you necessarily enjoy dealing with the challenge of getting the best out of those you now supervise, but because of any number of other reasons, like power, status, money, prestige, recognition, or because there isn’t any other way for your career to progress as it is “supposed” to.

You are badly in need of some guidance, my friend.  So, take a deep breath and read on for navigation tips:

First, learn to check your ego at the door.  When supervising others, you must consciously shift your focus from yourself to those you supervise.  Up to this point, your career has been focused on you – what YOU think, what YOU can do, who YOU know.  That ends right now.  Your thoughts, your needs, your concerns, your technical ability . . . they are not your number one concern anymore.  Instead, your world now centers on the thoughts, needs, concerns and technical ability of your employees.  Your management brilliance will be measured by how well you elicit the best work from these people, who may be nothing like you, and to do that you have to focus on what makes THEM tick.

Second, learn to listen . . . a lot.  Before, you simply had to understand the task, and then carry it out to the best of your ability.  Now, you must engage your employees in what needs to be done to improve in the department or the company.  They will have much to say whether they tell you out right or not.  When in doubt, close your mouth and listen (without that ego that you just checked at the door).  Your employees will come to you with complaints about the company, you, and each other . . . and with excuses for why the work is not done or not done well, and your initial reaction will be to shield yourself from blame.

You’ve been a master at doing the work.  You’ll want to justify everything you’ve done and to correct their facts and interpretations.  Don’t.  Listen for the emotion behind their words, and validate what they are experiencing.  Then, redirect them by asking questions about what they have experienced.  Eventually, you’ll get to the real reason they came to talk to you, and through that conversation you will prove to be someone whom they can trust because you kept the focus on them and listened.

And third, the last big tip is to learn to manage your negative emotions.  You’re human, so there will be times where you lose your cool.  But as much as possible, stay as cool, calm and collected as you can.

The biological reason for doing so is that when your emotions kick in, you don’t think as clearly as you normally would because the body is taking energy from the logical prefrontal cortex and sending it to the emotional limbic system, which is the seat of emotion response.  The professional reason for staying collected is that blowing up in anger or being overly excitable signals your employees that you are not the controlled leader they are looking to for guidance.  Your employees need you to be a stabilizing presence, which in turn, increases your trustworthiness.

When you’re angered or irritated, take a deep breath while counting to 10 before responding to give your emotions time to pass, so your logical brain can have time to kick in again.  Then realize, whatever happened is not the end of the world.  Your response can then be focused on how to move forward to get things back on track.

Supervising a group of people who produce fantastic results is truly a rewarding experience.  And the road to getting there will teach you more about yourself than almost any other life experience.  Enjoy.