Leadership is all about delivering a vision, communicating your decisions, having a clear message and directing your team – right?
Not always!
Your role as leader is to lead others to greatness – in reality you cannot do it all yourself, and those you lead need to deliver success on your behalf. This is why the greatest leaders of our time gather the brightest stars and sharpest minds around them.
Leading others to achieve success means you have to provide both space and support. Provide the space to grow, to develop, to make mistakes – and your support when they do. It is a real thrill to see individuals grow in strength, ability, confidence and performance.
It’s one thing to empower an individual, and another to respect that empowerment when they are with you. Believe me they know your position, your power, and the mandate you have provided. Your challenge is to set this aside when they are with you, to remain silent and let them speak; to let them have an opinion and voice it, and not to defer to you in your presence.
They respect you, so respect their empowerment, and their opinion, and listen – it’s amazing what you can learn!
