4 min reading time.
I thought a lot about leadership in my life so far. Can you really learn it? Are you born with traits that make it easier, like being an extrovert? Why can you be a great leader in one situation and a follower in another - and being ok with it?
Great leaders are versatile and humble, that is a given. But what roles does leadership entail?
I dug into it and found an interesting approach by Chris Voss that I want to share.
Chris Voss is an ex-hostage negotiator for the FBI and has a cool company called black swan group that focuses on negotiation training. They have a free e pamphlet on leadership, where they propose 5 leadership roles, plus a few blog articles that cover leadership - although somewhat on an introductory level.
In their ebook, they propose to
be a
Motivator, thus, giving legitimate praise for legitimate performance.
Director, balancing the demands of the organisation with the needs of their direct reports without micromanaging them.
Mentor, training those under your charge and equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to follow in your footsteps.
Communicator, using the right tone to deliver messages and making the issue the adversary, not the person.
Team Builder, cultivating collaborative environments that ensure that everyone is heard and that their ideas are shared.
Probably my biggest take away was this thought:
Before you say anything, make sure to ponder these words: How much of an extra burden am I putting on my team?
Voss stresses that, as a leader, you want to continue growing and learning.
Your market changes and you have to adapt. So do times and cultures, trends, people and circumstances. Being openminded and wanting to keep growing as a leader is essential to build and evolve teams over time.
Thus, being transparent about your work is worth a goal-striving towards to.
We all know that. The finances are hidden, the boss's shortcomings get downplayed, and ultimately, the team or someone else is blamed for mistakes.
A good leader is humble and does not fear to show their imperfections. Because they are clear and transparent, the team understands why certain things happen or who the experts are that helped decide on the technical details of such and such decisions.
Why this matters
I like the framing used by Voss and company a lot. The example you set as the leader will give way to whether your coworkers come forward if they are hitting a wall, have personal or business-related issues or for whatever reasons, or not. Which boosts the entire team if the others realise that an effort is genuine. They grow together, and ultimately, the team feels more included.
Now while the little book by Voss does not explain much more in detail, I feel it imperative to focus on the consequences of having a bad boss a bit more.
Here are the top 10 most prominent pain points employees reported according to the tinypulse report 2018.
Technical issues with software/ tools
Interruptions and disruptions from Slack, emails and noisy office environments
Poor communication from management/lack of training and information
Disorganised and time-wasting systems and processes
Misguided decisions from management/bad leadership
Lack of flexibility / no opportunities to work from home
Overworked/under-resourced team
Office politics/favouritism
Difficult customers
Too many meetings
I see this list from the perspective of "what I could do for them?', and marked these points in bold.
That means 7 reasons can directly be influenced if the leadership is aware and takes influence.
They are unnecessary frictions in the workplace that cost a lot of money and worsen the working-place culture.
You can change that. Maybe not every point at the same time. However, you could set the meeting-time- default to 20 minutes instead of 30. Or perhaps communicate decisions from the board by including reason and strategy to be more transparent. Or it could be worth simply having short stand-ups only to inform about daily and weekly plan and so on.
Invest in your team and establish a trust-based work environment and things like the micromanaging boss will have less leeway to take place.
Leading a team needs authentic empathy from your side. Peopl usually have difficulties coping with their boss if they experience a condescending attitude or the boss has a mean temper towards their coworkers. If the place people work at becomes a place where they do feel good, it will inevitably lead to a lower employee turnover rate.
Because on top of the income and security a job offers them, it adds that bit of self-actualisation that gives satisfaction and sense to their doing.
In other words:
Employees don't quit their jobs - they quit their bosses.
+1 to that from me.
Thanks for being here. If I may help you train, practice and get better, I would love to.
Let me know.
Cheers
Andreas