What does great leadership even look like? And what is it you can learn and use in your own life that will inspire others?

So what’s the difference between a manager and a leader? Plenty of people have a desire to become a manager in the workplace and that may well be you, but some mistake the “manager” bit for the leading people bit. In fact often if someone says to me, oh, I really want to be a manager. There’s a part of me thinking….Seriously!! You want to be a manager? You know, that’s potentially 10 sets of personalities and 10 sets of problems. Each wanting your time and considering themselves and their issues to be more important than another’s…It's a tough job…it's hard work and you're also having to juggle a ton of other things in order to deliver results. So what’s the difference?

Well, Managers, plan things and organise, they control processes and systems making sure “things” are working to their optimum performance. For some that all sounds super sexy, for others, well kind of dull….Let me bring this to life with John Adairs “action centred leadership”….a leadership model created in the 70s but still relevant today. His research highlighted the challenges faced by those who manage others….think about it from your own perspective - There’s the accountability you’ve got for the numerous tasks that require delivery….add to that the focus you need to have, on ensuring your team work together “as a team”…then of course there’s the individuals who make up the team, so a whole bunch of different personalities and skill sets…all these areas require equal focus…which of course can be hugely challenging - for example - what if a new project comes your way….The complexity of which diverts your attention from your team focus? What if the team isn’t currently equipped to meet the demands of a new project? There’s another potential shift of focus! And let’s also throw into the mix a member of the team who’s currently under performing - well here’s yet another demand on your time and focus! It’s one giant balancing act, with no easy answer.

Clearly aiming for that sweet spot in the middle is the way to go…but of course that’s easier said than done….don’t worry though, this is what this leadership blog programme is here to help with…I promise you’ll get answers - obviously though it’s going to be down to you to put them into practice…So let’s get back to Leadership – what is it then? What’s it consist of….Well if you want others to follow you…..EVEN when you’ve a vision others aren’t entirely bought into, you’re going to need to be comfortable setting direction, communicating with clarity, being persuasive, and have confidence in making decisions…oh and don’t forget others may not always agree with them. So what skills are going to help us with this.…well your ability to connect with people at all levels will be a great start…what do I mean by that?….well that’s genuinely wanting to better understand your team members, who they are, what they’re about, what it is that mentally stimulates them – because if you can get that right you’re going to be on the right path to developing highly motivated, high performing individuals.

None of this is to say you’re trying to be everyone’s mate, because you’re not. The respect you derive will come from your humility, your passion, your drive, your reliability the list goes on…It’ll come down to your ability to see in others more than they see in themselves, coach, inspire - be a role model….these are the things your team will look up to you for. Let me expand on this...

Are you familiar with the leadership research by Avolio and Bass the model’s called “transformational leadership? What they highlight as part of their model is called the 4i’s.

• Individual consideration

• intellectual stimulation

• inspirational motivation

• idealised influence.

To bring this to life…imagine for a moment a member of your team that you’ve taken time to get to know…..through doing so you’re aware they love video editing outside of work. Now lets pretend a project comes your way and it’s going to involve the creation of a video to be placed on your companies intranet. Knowing what you know about this person and their interest in video editing, this would be an ideal opportunity to tap into their skills, and through doing so intellectually stimulate them. This has the potential to create motivation because you’ve demonstrated “individual consideration” ….It’s a quick win, has low potential for push-back and is likely to require little persuasion….I’m sure given time you’d be able to identify past or future opportunities you’ve had where this has or could have worked…

Before I move on…the “idealised influence” element relates to you as leader “role modelling” the qualities of great leadership…Well lets just imagine for one moment I was somebody senior in your organization and I was making a big announcement about a brand new leader recently recruited….”Hi everybody, I've got great news after months of research, we’ve finally narrowed it down and we've got a new CEO to lead our business - you'll be thrilled to learn that they’ unethical, domineering, callous, unnsupportive, emotionally cold, they don’t listen, have rubbish interpersonal skills and only think of themselves!…great news!”…Quite clearly, I'm being ridiculous, but I'm making a point…..these are the qualities that none of us would want in a leader and I'll be blown away if you'd be excited about ever wanting to work for somebody like this. OK so let’s do that again….with an alternative version…”Hello everyone, I've got great news, after months of research, we’ve finally found somebody to lead our business… they're approachable honest, inspirational, innovative, they’re a great communicator, they genuinely listen, are empathetic, humble, visionary, and go out of their way to make time for others”….I’m hoping these are qualities you’d be keen to emulate as leader? AND I’ve no doubt many other positive qualities can be added here too…Actually here’s one – How much would you love to be lead by someone who was completely disorganised?….I’m figuring the answer is a big “not much”….

The point is, we know what great leadership looks like, the question is from your perspective how many of these qualities do you demonstrate day to day and from which list are they drawn? Let’s not pretend, when we’re up against it…the pressures on…and deadlines are looming…it can be easy to fall into the trap of letting our standards slip!…..so take a moment now - What is it you need to work on to become the leader you were always meant to be? What one area could you focus on that will create the biggest change for your personally?..I think it's also worth highlighting here a word that often crops up often when leadership is explored….Trust….So what is trust?….what’s it made up of? If we don’t know…how can we be sure we’re acting in ways that invoke trust?….There’s actually what’s called the “trust equation”…it’s made up of credibility - so walking your walk and talking your talk….reliability - doing what you say you’re gonna do, when you say you're gonna do it…..and intimacy - your ability to maintain confidentiality when people share sensitive information with you

So how might this look in the workplace? Well imagine you’re leading a team - And as a collective, you’ve all agreed on what's called a team charter… an agreement between everyone that whenever there’s a team meeting nobody is to turn on their laptops until all actionable points have been discussed thereby ensuring all remain focused….However, because you’re super important, when you turn up you’ve got your laptop on and you’ve got your phone buzzing away beside you….So you're not walking your walk. You're not talking your talk. You're not doing what everybody else is doing. You're not role-modelling…..

Then it's “reliability”…..so imagine for one moment you’re my boss you email me and ask if I’m free to catch up next week to provide an update on a project I’m working on….So I reply, Yeah, sure. No worries and agree to the meeting….but there’s a part of me thinking, I know that come Wednesday afternoon, I’ll get an email from you telling me how busy you are….And that you’re going to have to push the meeting back to the following week….And surprise surprise Wednesday comes around and what do I find in my inbox!….An email from you saying, you need to push the meeting back to the following week – Now I get it… in the corporate world they'll always be times when we have to react to the unexpected. But if you've got form for constantly rearranging things and not following through on promises, then you're chipping away at the trust others have in you…..

Finally there’s intimacy…..what we're talking about here is…Let's say I was underperforming and you were my boss and I caught up with you and said, look, I've got stuff going on at home right now….I'm working on it….I appreciate I've been missing deadlines and not been performing at my best…can you just give me till the beginning of the month…I promise you I'll have things sorted…Now you show me you’re supportive and nod in the right places…but later on I hear you talking to others - sharing my issues… then that's chipped away even further at the trust. Now that's all well, and good. And you might be able to look yourself in the mirror and say, yeah absolutely I’m credible, reliable and maintain confidences….which is fantastic….

However the equation is credibility, reliability and intimacy over self-interest….Which is to say… you can be doing all those things, but if the reasons you're doing them….is simply for your own benefit, you’re just box ticking because you're trying to scale the corporate ladder….then I'll see right through that….And I'm sure you've probably come into contact with individuals who play that kind of game within the workplace – How much did you trust THEM?

So take a moment to pause, have a little think. Are you able to tick all those boxes? Is that you on a day-to-day basis within the workspace? Or can you be guilty of not applying these behaviours consistenly? If so what actions you need to take? One final thought before we end this session…..Let me ask you a question…Your desire for leadership …are you seeking it because it represents authority? Empowering you with “power and control?” Or have you been called to it? Because you’ve a clear vision as to an outcome that will benefit others, and make a difference to those around you? Your answer to these questions will probably go a long way in how others perceive you as their “leader.” Food for thought…

As part of the next session….We’ll delve into Hershey and Blanchard's situational leadership model and you’ll get to identify your preferred leadership style. See you in part 2..