Leaders Fail More (Ep. 29)

Episode 29: Leaders Fail More

 

Leaders can really only do a couple of things.  They can use their actions and the way they view life to inspire others, or they can discourage others.  

 

1. Leaders Must Stay Visible

You can’t go AWOL.  As the leader, your people need to know where you are and what you are doing.  They need to use you as the guide to what needs to be accomplished.  

It is all about building relationships, and getting ready for what is to come. The best way to do this, is to have people on my side, and the best way for me to do that is to help them know that I am on their side.

You have to be visible more than just to pop in and let people know what they need to do.

Your main job as a leader is to build relationships and add value to others. 

QUESTION: What are you doing to be intentional in your relationship building? Are you creating opportunities for engagement with the people who look to you for management and leadership? 

There does have to be some kind of boundaries, but as the leader, you have to create those boundaries, care for your people, and help them become better in the process. You can't do that unless you are engaging with them on a personal level.

QUESTION: How are your personal skills? What are the people skills that you need to work on? Who can you ask on your team to be honest with you about what you need to change regarding your visibility to the people you lead? 

 

2. Leaders Must Stay Positive

You need to give your team a reason to follow you. Nobody likes somebody negative. 

QUESTION: If I were to ask your team what kind of outlook you have most of the time, what would it be? 

You have to be ready to help people see the potential for winning.

One of the ingredients is having self-confidence. 

QUESTION: What are the things that you are afraid of right now? What are the boogeymen that you have to face up against to be self-confident? 

This does not mean that you will not experience losses, but it will make you a better person in the process, and help you to keep going when you don't want to go anymore. 

Leaders are always looking for the potential negative pieces of the puzzle, and look for traps that might slow the team down. Leaders are about getting the job done, and doing it with others by their side. 

 

3. Leaders Must Stay Honest

It's important for you to give off and exude that self-confidence, but in a qualified manner. 

The Peter Principle says this… In any organization, most of us are going to “rise to the level of incompetence.” 

QUESTION: Are you willing to be unwavering in your quest to become the best? 

You have to accept nothing less than your very best. As soon as people are relying on you, you just don't have to be good, you have to be great. 

 “Where good enough, isn’t.” - Hertz Rent-a-Car

“Good is the enemy of great.” - Jim Collins, Good to Great

QUESTION: What do you not do that you have to add to your regiment to make sure that you are the best? 

Because if you don't:

1) you will get fired because you will be outed for not getting the job done,  

2) you will keep your positions and destroy all of the people that look to you to make them better… which is even worse.

Harsh, yes. But, everything rises and falls on leadership. And, if that is the case, then the success of your people as individuals and together as a team has everything to do with your ability to shape them for the future, and make the right decisions to help them and the company succeed. 

 

MO’s Final Thoughts:

The bottom line is this. You have to be willing to fail. Leadership is not about being comfortable, it's about making change. And the way that you make changes you go against the grain. You have to be ready to step out of your comfort zone and screw it up a time or two. 

 

Amazon Book Links:

Good to Great, Jim Collins - https://amzn.to/36Jin5l

 

Special thanks to:

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