By David Tollefson, Vice President
It takes more than a title and being in charge to be a leader. And what separates good leaders from great leaders is leadership that builds leaders. Jack Welch famously said, “Before you are a leader, success is about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”
The principles highlighted below are not an exhaustive or detailed look at becoming a great leader. The intent is to introduce you to some of the principles that can make you a better and maybe even great people leader.
#1: Know Yourself
I think it’s safe to say we’ve all seen great leaders leverage their personalities, experience, and learnings to lead in a way that motivates others. You are not them. Examine yourself and as a starting point identify who you are, your strengths, skills, and abilities, as well as your personality and the people style you employ. Properly harnessed, these will be a foundation for the leadership style from which you will most naturally flow. Simply put – be authentic. Learn from others and be yourself.
#2: Know Others
I have three children whom I love equally but do not treat the same. They are each unique. What works with one is not necessarily what will work with another. The art of great leadership is to know the individuals on your team well enough that you can shift your behaviour when needed to better relate, communicate, and motivate them to succeed. A great people leader would never say, “This is who I am and let others learn what I need from them” but instead will ask, “Who are you and how can I better relate to you?” or “How can I make you successful?”
#3: Believe in Others/Invest in Others
How easy is it at times to micro-manage because you want something done “your way” or to take that task on yourself because you can do it faster and maybe even better than walking someone else through it. You may get tasks done quicker and the way you like but what has been missed is the opportunity for others to develop, grow, and excel.
- Trust that your reports have abilities that can be cultivated.
- Invest by providing tasks that give them opportunities to learn, excel, and yes maybe even fail.
- Show a belief in others such that your confidence in them becomes their confidence in themself.
#4: Replicate Yourself
Great people leaders produce leaders. This may in fact be the most visible signpost, within your organization, of the leader you want to become. There is tremendous value and output that comes from developing leaders and maybe even your successor. In fact, their success and growth will reflect favourably on you. So don’t be threatened by the success of others. Instead, embrace opportunities to mentor and develop that next wave of leaders.
#5: Provide Continual Feedback
Providing feedback does not and should not need to wait for annual performance reviews. Develop a trusted relationship with others such that feedback happens in real-time, based on observations about the recent past and centred on development that is focused forward. This kind of feedback comes best when delivered by someone who is trusted and respected.
#6: Celebrate the Success of Others
Simply put – promote the successes achieved by those who report to you, across the department and organization. Elevating them elevates your department while also elevating your standing with those to whom you report.
My encouragement to you is threefold:
- Commit to being a people leader and to the success of those who report to you.
- Identify one new behaviour that would make you a better people leader.
- Study/understand that one new behaviour as best you can and practice it until you become comfortable with it. Practicing a behaviour and fine-tuning it as you go will turn that new behaviour into a skilled, learned behaviour that you can and will perform effortlessly and effectively.