This should have stopped surprising me a while ago, but for some reason it has not. Good Leadership is like good parenting or good teaching. If you do it well you get great outcomes. And if you muck it up; everyone ends up unhappy.
There are several qualities of great leaders and managers that I have talked about in other blogs, but when getting to the nitty-gritty of the leadership culture in your business, you need to think about the real impact that your leaders are having before you think about their attributes.
I may BE highly motivated individual, but if I am not inspiring motivation in my team, then I am not motivational.
I may BE extremely articulate, but if I am not creating clarity for my team, then I am not a clear communicator.
Scales of Leadership
At Proficient-ly, we talk about the SCALES OF LEADERSHIP: (Not like those on fish… just to be clear!)
The scale of leadership is about the areas in which your leaders are really having a significant impact.
At Proficient-ly, we define our leadership culture by the scale of RESPECT and INFLUENCE– we want to see all of our leaders delivering consistently in both areas.
Be respected &
give respect to others
We put specific constructs in place to ensure that people feel valued – that people experience gratitude, so we build a culture of mutual respect. We ask our leaders to behave with integrity and be prepared to be vulnerable, ensuring they are viewed as sincere. Most importantly, we ask them to strive for consistent personal improvement and model what we expect to see from our teams. If people are not both respected and able to show respect, they simply do not fit in around here.
Confidently influence
your team
We seek to positively influence the performance of ourselves and others at all times. We share our knowledge freely – we engage regularly and with enthusiasm, so that when we see a chance to be better – we take it. We set clear expectations, and we coach and train to strive for constant improvement. No one makes excuses about why things are not achieved, we find a way because we recognise the power of our influence and use it always.
We know that truly ambitious people thrive in an environment of respect and influence, so we try to build one.
You can learn more about this scale of leadership in our YouTube video.
To really master control of your business you need to have great management and leadership in place. These are different skill sets and require a different set of behaviors. Check out our blog to find out more.