Yes, you are a Leader! I’m not talking about your position within the company you own or department you Lead. I’m referring to how you show up every day as a person of influence. Whether you like it or not, your name comes up in conversation while you’re not around. You cannot control this, but you can control what’s being said about you by getting dialed in on how you influence.
Early in my professional career, I led with force and intimidation. Having spent the eight years prior in the military, then on the streets as a Police Officer, I had to understand one thing… “What got me here, won’t get me there.” How we influence people, determines how long and how effective we are as Leaders. A primary goal of many who lead is to be respected by those they influence. Gaining RESPECT of your peers and/or direct reports takes time.
Here’s an exercise I would like you to consider implementing. Write down the top five characteristics of a person you want on your team. Once you’ve written these 5-character traits down take a look at them and say to yourself, “I attract who I am, not what I want.”
Early in my career, I completed this same exercise. One of the character traits I wrote down was, Good Listener. Go figure, right!!! Considering I was a K9 Handler during my military career, this came as no surprise. What was a surprise was that I was the worse listener known to man. I realized I was expecting my peers and employees to obey my command. You’re probably thinking, “This is horrible leadership!” You are absolutely correct, it was. In order for anyone to listen to me, I had to first listen to him or her with intention.
Your approach to Leadership may not need as much help as my initial approach to Leadership did, but we all can make some tweaks in our Leadership Influence. I implore you to carry out the START-STOP-CONTINUE exercise in your next monthly team meeting. You are probably wondering what the START-STOP-CONTINUE exercise is. Here’s an example of how this would be administered.
As your teams Leader ask the following questions:
- What would you like me to START doing?
- What would you like me to STOP doing?
- What is it you would like me to CONTINUE?
As a side note, if you and your team do not have the best relationship, that’s ok. This will show a vulnerable side to you that they need to see. The conversation may even get a tad bit uncomfortable. If you feel that you’re not ready to take this on, there’s another option for implementation of this START-STOP-CONTINUE exercise. Ask a peer leader you trust to come in and do this for your team. Then, you can do the same thing for their team. As a Corporate Leadership Consultant, I’ve facilitated this exercise on many occasions and the overall responses have been vital to the Leaders development as it relates to their influence.
Enjoy your Leadership journey and remember to THINK as an Executive, REACT like a Soldier and LEAD in every aspect of your life.
