Research by DDI’s Frontline Leader Project revealed
that “People leave managers, not companies“
57% of employees left a job because of their manager.
14% left multiple jobs because of their managers.
And 32% have seriously considered leaving because of their manager.
http://ewswire.com/news-releases/new-ddi-research-57-percent-of-employees-quit-because-of-their-boss-300971506.html
So, what does this mean for you as a Leader = Everything!
Many people take on leadership positions because it’s the perceived ‘next step’ in their career, but a lot don’t have the basic understanding of what leadership really is. And it’s not their fault. The organisation should understand their leadership abilities and put in place leadership development programs and opportunities.
A leadership position comes with responsibility for “leading” but most people see the promotion into leadership as a role that needs to deliver business objectives …… and you’re right, but how do you deliver business objectives?
With people. Ergo, leadership is about people!
Leadership is all about people and being a subject matter expert or technical specialist doesn’t give you the skills to lead people. Some people are ‘natural leaders’ and can effectively and easily lead people, but for many, they haven’t got a clue where to start, what to do and how to cope with this team that all have different needs, expectations, temperaments……… and to be a successful leader you need to develop these skills.
When a leader can understand, coach, mentor, inspire, motivate, let go of being the technical expert and trust your team, you can create an environment where people feel valued and heard and they will respond accordingly. Developing trust and giving them accountability and responsibility to actually do the job you’ve employed them to do, goes a massive way in creating a high-performing team. Empower them and let them be their best selves and you’ll get their commitment and they’ll produce incredible results which can amaze you.
On the other hand, if you feel threatened or need to “hold on to all the knowledge” then you’ll create a bottleneck and you will miss the opportunity to create an awesome team. Leadership is about letting go of your ego and lifting others up to shine, and when they shine, so will you. But you have to put them first. You need to entrust them to get on and do their job. And if mistakes happen along the way, as they will, then you have their back. You support them and help them understand and find the learnings and lessons in the mistake. Mistakes are great ways to learn not what to do next time. Embrace mistakes, fail and fail early, learn from them, adjust and keep going.
If you can develop trust, create an environment where open debates and discussion are encouraged, gain a commitment that 80% agreement equals 100% commitment on that course of action, hold each other accountable, have fun, laugh and work together for the greater good, then you’re on a winning approach. Laughter in a team is a sign of a healthy group.
Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a great book to read and
if you want to chat about leadership coaching reach out and let’s set up a time to chat to see if we can work together.
