5 Lessons In Leadership
Scott Morrison on Social Distancing: “We are simply appealing to people to show common sense, to respect each other. And do the right thing when it comes to following these very simple rules.”
Sorry but this reminds me of many restructures I went through in my career where the messages of above made way too many assumptions and lacked the clarity that people desperately need in uncertain times. Feel me?
This is what I have learnt in over 20 years of team leadership. Just 5 simple insights to start with…
1. As a leader, you can never over-communicate.
And if you are worried that you are boring people to tears and sounding like a broken record then ask your most experienced team members to let you know. I bet you, you will never be told that you over-communicate. You might get told that the message is boring but that’s a different issue.
2. Your people already feel at the mercy of management in uncertain times...
so, like children, they need extra comforting and reassurance as well as honesty. So if you don’t know something, don’t stay quiet, just tell them you don’t know. Tell them and build empathy in the process.
3. Clarity is absolutely paramount.
It’s been shown in many lab tests and we’ve all experienced it… unpredictability and uncertainty are absolute torture. So do away with the misunderstandings and be crystal clear.
4. Sorry Scott but common sense is not common at all.
Don’t hide behind words, get your message out. Clarity requires courage. Not everyone has it I guess.
5. Uncertain times like restructures and natural disasters are an opportunity to showcase your leadership...
your courage (remember the latin root of ‘courage’ is coeur which means heart in French), your authenticity and your humanity. So be less ‘super’ and more ‘human’ as I read in Tim Ferriss’ Tribe of Mentors book recently. Your team will reward you with above average engagement. That’s the best return on investment I know.
What do you think? What parallels have you seen between this country’s leadership and leadership experienced at work? I’d love to know…
And if you need any advice or some 121 mentoring then drop me a line! Read some more tips in the meantime!
Photo by Matthew Buchanan on Unsplash