When did you last question how you are doing in your leadership
role? Ultimately those around you are the only ones that can
answer that question and help you gain self-awareness.
A 360-degree review, whereby all team members provide
anonymous feedback to each other, including managers
and leaders, is a great way of establishing whether there is
alignment between how you see yourself and how the world
sees you. An internet search will reveal multiple resources
for getting this process started. By providing a level of
confidentiality to those who you ask to provide feedback, you
will receive more honest – and therefore useful – responses.
In addition to asking others for feedback, you need to ask
yourself some searching questions. The first of these is, why
would anyone be inclined to be led by you? What is it about
you that makes those around you want to be better?
Is it:
` ` The standard you set?
` ` The vision you’ve helped create?
` ` The faith you have?
` ` Your own work ethic?
` ` The balance you promote?
Seek first to understand
Empathy is an incredibly important skill. As Jim Collins notes
in his celebrated book Good to Great, highly effective leaders
have a large dose of humility, and they are there to promote
the efforts of the team because they have the EQ to understand
that a high performing team will most often be stronger that a
high performing manager.
Imagine that a team member that you have charged with
an important task comes to see you on the day the task is
due to be completed only to advise that due to unforeseen
circumstances it has not been completed – and in fact has
barely been started. Alternatively, a sales advisor misses
budget for the second month in a row and as a consequence
you post a loss for the quarter.
Do you:
a) Slam your fist on the desk demanding answers?
b) Reach for the disciplinary action paperwork?
c) Discuss the employee’s incompetence with your
colleagues?
d) Seek first to understand?
All going well you have ruled out
options a, b and c as your first position,
which leaves you with one of the best
pieces of advice in communication:
seek first to understand. You have two
ears and one mouth, and as a leader it’s
a good rule of thumb for the proportion
you should use each, i.e. listening twice
as much as talking.
When communicating, use the skill of
empathetic listening, also known as
active listening. Empathetic listening
ensures you understand the position
of who you are talking to through
summarising key points and asking
additional questions to fill in any gaps in
the information they have provided.
"Ralph Waldo
Emmerson
is quoted
as famously
saying ‘What
you do speaks
so loud that
I cannot
hear what
you say.'"
When you have all the relevant information
in the above scenario, an effective leader
reflects. Jim Collins talks about the
window and the mirror: based on his
research, Level 5 leaders (the highest level
of leadership) looked out of the window to
credit others for success and looked in the
mirror to apportion responsibility when
things didn’t go to plan.
A leader with high levels of EQ will
firstly ask what their part has been in
an outcome. When things have not
gone well they will be the first to stand
up and take responsibility (looking in
the mirror) and they will look out the
window to see how they can help their
team achieve greatness.
One way for a leader to assist their
team’s development is to allow them
to trip but not fall, as this is when
wisdom is created. To do this you need
to have a good understanding of the
requirements of their role and task.
Think about the mistakes you’ve made
in your career and the lessons you’ve
learnt. If you were never given the
opportunity to get something wrong,
how would you have learnt to effectively
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