Measuring Leadership Effectiveness

If I've said it once, I've said it one hundred times; everyone is a leader. You may not think you are, but there is someone looking at you for leadership. It may be it may be a spouse, a child, a friend, or it may be a team at work. It may even be a multi-million/billion-dollar project under your leadership. There are many forms and facets of leadership, all of which are important.

While leading is fairly inclusive to all, leading well is another story.  A constant topic of concern to me is emotional intelligence and the accountability one must take for themselves. You are 100% accountable for the decisions you make, the actions you take (or at times the actions you don’t take) and the words you speak. You are 100% accountable for you, so don't try to blame others for them. Along with taking responsibility for oneself, you must also commit to understand and learning about others. In today’s culture, dealing with multiple generations of perspective and ideology, we have to learn to understand people like never before. That type of understanding isn't a gift everyone has, but it is something that can be learned by anyone willing to set their pride to the side, and learn that perspective, learning, hearing and many other aspects of life are different for everyone (read my previous posts on my blog [http://stevestrickland.blogspot.com/] titled “Perspective”, “Trust and “Developing an understanding attitude”).

Your ability to learn and adapt will help determine your effectiveness as a leader. It doesn't refer to your level of book smarts, but rather your ability to grow, learn and implement new ways to lead people effectively. I'd like to discuss a couple of areas leadership that will help you get the most out of your leadership potential.

Self–awareness

Self-awareness is a curiosity that begins with the courage to hear what works and does not work about your leadership style. It can be about anything leadership, including; the work culture, personality dynamics, etc. Being aware is the first level of knowledge that can equip you to take powerful corrective action. Self-awareness allows you to leverage your talent and intervene when and where necessary to remove any personality traits that are in the way of your true leadership potential.

The ability to develop culture and climate awareness opens the door for you to see what is really going on. With that additional level of knowledge, you can intervene in areas that negatively effecting engagement and innovation.

Self-Awareness is the doorway to emotional intelligence. It gives you access to real self-improvement. It's absolutely critical for personal and professional development. However, awareness for awareness sake is not enough.

As a leader, you must be courageous enough to take responsibility for your negative behaviors and the impact of those behaviors on others. You have to be willing to recognize and admit when you are wrong, then work to shift your behavior in a way that has a more positive impact. Be humble.

Bias for Action

This is a phrase that several of my best leaders have used to describe a consistent urgency toward doing (Both Mike Ettore and Martin Casado were leaders of mine that used this phrase and both had a military background). Many leaders prefer to stay on the strategic side of things, casting vision and focusing on the mission or strategic project of the day. I've got a lot of that in me too - but I have learned a valuable leadership lesson in this area. People love being led well, but if you always lead from the top you can lose credibility.  Sometimes you have to lead from the side and be willing to not just lead, but assist as well. Assisting can come in several forms, whether it's clearing roadblocks and impediments with other teams, providing resources or materials required, or actually jumping in to assist with work that needs to be done.

I can tell you that my most recent position change (just a few months ago) this has become a critical component of being able to lead well. I'm spending less than half of my time managing and leading in a strategic way. The majority of my time is spent writing code, building automation components, answering calls/tickets or whatever else needs to be done to assist the team.

Be willing to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty in there with your team. It will go a long way toward gaining their respect and you teach them you are not willing to ask something of them you would be unwilling to do yourself. If you want to build your influence and develop loyalty between you and those you lead – be willing to help as much as you want to lead.

Adaptive Change

As mentioned above, most leaders are typically mission and task driven, focusing on the strategic side of things. This can cause blind spots when it comes to what is happening with your team.

Being able to respond to changes in an appropriate, controlled manner — regardless of the current stress – is part of a good leader. Flat line reaction is not always the answer but screaming and yelling is not appropriate for any situation. Anger and frustration might be needed at times, while curiosity and collaboration may be needed at other times.

Developing this type of response and reaction agility means that you have learned to think before reacting. When I teach this to my kids, there are a few phrases I have repeated to them enough times that they typically help me finish the sentence now whenever I use it:

·         You don’t have to say everything that comes into your head

·         Don’t allow your feelings to dictate your actions, you be in control of them

As an effective leader, you must constantly ask yourself, “What is needed now?” This has everything to do with situational awareness and appropriate reaction. When the work is stressful or a project is faltering, a leader needs to have a handle on how they respond, and can coach others in the same manner. That type of leader is one that positively contributes to a healthy company climate and culture.

Being adaptive takes discipline, awareness and commitment. It’s a core component of leadership intelligence. We have to learn to be:

1.       a mission-driven leader

2.       a leader who inspires people to give their best in service of a compelling vision

In summary, we must recognize that most people are not coming to work simply for a paycheck; we need a keen awareness that many people come to work to fulfill their individual purpose in a way that supports the organizational purpose. If you want to be an effective leader, you must understand how to inspire and how to leverage your communications with others to do the same. They utilize their people intelligence to tie work responsibilities and tasks not only to the overall intention for and strategy of the business, but to a real purpose they can get behind as well.

Unspoken Questions your team is likely asking

Work culture is on everyone’s radar these days. It's often the difference between a good team and a great one. Smart leaders pay attention to their team culture because they know it can create an atmosphere where people love to come to work and be a part of something that truly makes a difference. As teams change or evolve or as you onboard new team members, remember to consider these unspoken questions they are likely asking.

Can I trust you?

We all want to work for organizations and leaders that we trust; that is, those that live up to their promises. I've questioned candidates considering leaving their current work and I often hear about the old "bait and switch". Essentially they were told one thing about the organization, like expectations for the role or potential for growth as a leader, only to find out none of it, or very little of it was true. When a leader makes promises to their team but doesn't deliver, it creates opportunity that will likely equate to a lack of trust. It's understandable to paint your organization in the best possible light, however, when an unrealistic promise is made or an exaggerated view is painted without being honest about the real challenges the organization faces, team members will eventually see the reality and lose faith in leadership. Be relentlessly honest with your team about the challenges and opportunities. Honesty and fairness will build trust among your team which will create a healthy culture of trust and integrity.

Will you make my daily life better?

Increasingly, employees are looking for more than a job that simply provides a paycheck, they want to have their daily lives enriched and make an impact on others or on society. They want to be a part of a workplace environment that delivers the opportunity for fun and relationship as well as the opportunity for personal and professional growth. One of our core values here is FUN...so we need to look for ways to make the work we do more enjoyable. Whether we "game-ify" team/individual goals, celebrate special occasions or achievements or hold monthly meetings where we gather to spend time learning something new about work and have a party while doing it. This will help enrich the lives our our teams. Increasing the fun quotient will allow you to create a team that enjoys coming to work every day.

How will my work make a difference?

We are fortunate to work for a company that can really make a difference in the lives of people. Connecting people with job opportunities can be a very satisfying accomplishment. Unfortunately, we rarely take the time as leaders to equate value to the work we are performing. It's a powerful motivator. The key to motivation is not just to get someone to do something, but to get them to appreciate and agree with the "why" of the work we do.

Start asking these questions of yourself so you can answer them before you they become a problem. Create the work culture that is inviting enough to keep your best people wanting to show up every day.