Leadership Briefs

LEADERS STILL STANDING

Leadership is not about the leader. It is about the positive impact of one person on a team of followers. A leader’s influence prompts teams to achieve strategic outcomes and to live within the cultural values of the organization. Influence is proactive, but it is also a reactive.

» Proactive influence offers training, resources, and support needed to handle obstacles and opportunities when they come.

» Reactive influence acknowledges that a team member can bring the messiness of life to the workplace which interferes with productivity.

At some point in life, most deal with mistakes, disappointments, tragedy, logical consequences, and unfair treatment by others. One of the fuzzy lines in leadership is determining how close you should get to members of your team. Do you keep a professional distance, or do you connect beyond the professional in hopes that you can be a resource to them when difficult personal situations arise?

A leader who is committed to developing team members will navigate the intertwining of the personal and professional aspects of their work relationships. To develop individuals means knowing their strengths and motivators as well as the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving their leadership capacity. Some leaders do this naturally according to their personality style. For others this happens more mechanically.