The Leadership Heresy You Can’t Live Without
I’m about to commit heresy.
On a site dedicated to leadership…with the very word “lead” in the
title, I want to address what I believe to be one of the most important
aspects of your workplace leadership.
In my work with thousands of business leaders across industries,
geography, and over many years, I’ve repeatedly seen people lose their
influence because they don’t address this one thing.
In many leadership forums, many leadership
books, and not a few
social media memes, what I’m about to say would be skewered, and yet…
your credibility and influence depend on it.
What is this leadership heresy?
Management.
Why Management Is Vital to Your Leadership
Your leadership depends on your credibility. You can’t influence
people if they don’t trust you. Where does that trust come from?
In addition to relational health, the foundation of that trust is your basic management competence.
I don’t mean that you have to become a certified project management
professional in order to have influence. What I do mean is that if you
don’t have the basics in place, you create chaos and lose credibility
with your people.
Now, I understand that many leadership texts will tell you, “if you’re not good at management, hire it.”
Hogwash.
If you run the company, by all means, lead and then hire a good operations person to manage. There’s nothing wrong with that.
But if you’re like the vast majority of people with business
leadership roles (99+%), the idea that you can hire someone to do your
management for you is pure nonsense (and dangerous as well).
Even if you should become CEO, you’re responsible to make sure these things happen. If they don’t, it’s your responsibility.
The good news is, the basics of management aren’t difficult.
Four Steps to Manage Well and Build Your Credibility
At its most basic, management involves a few set of practices that
are relatively simple. As the old saying goes: it’s not hard, it’s just
hard work. When we struggle as managers, it is often because we have
failed to do one of the following:- Set clear expectations.
It happened to me again recently. I was frustrated with my colleague’s work, but when I stopped to think about it, I hadn’t shared my expectations. I had my own image of what the project looked like and when it would be completed, but we’d never discussed it.
Expectations can come from many sources: the team itself, the manager, the organization. Regardless, if they are not clear, they will not be met, and I can guarantee you will be frustrated.
- Train and equip your team to meet the expectations.
- Reinforce expectations.
Effective leaders and managers know that they must continually reinforce expectations and keep clear priorities in front of their team. We all need reminders from time to time about where we’re going and why we’re going there.
If your team were a rock and roll band, reinforcing expectations is like the bass line or drum that anchors the song and keeps everyone on track.
- Celebrate and practice accountability.
Your Turn
Remember: Your leadership influence is built on a foundation of trust. Your basic management skills provide a strong foundation for inspiring your team to build a better tomorrow. As you wrestle with management challenges, I invite you to ask these four questions:
- Are expectations clear to both parties?
- Does your team have the skills and equipment to succeed?
- Have you consistently reinforced the expectations?
- Do you consistently practice accountability and celebration?
David Dye
*http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/287907/information-theory/214958/Physiology
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