Leaders, your teams mirror you. From the way we dress to the brand of Green Tea that we drink, we subconsciously affect the behaviors of those whom we lead, interact and direct.
- If Good is Good enough for you, then don’t expect greatness from your teams
- If discipline in everyday actions is hard, expect indiscipline to creep up across areas
- If mediocrity is your call sign, then excellence is a far cry for your team
- If taking responsibility for your actions is a challenge, then do not expect extreme ownership from your teams
- If you look at failure causes outside yourself, then expect your teams to play the blame games
People want role models who can inspire them to be the best form of themselves.
The leader’s attitude is the team’s attitude.
An example. I work with two partner organizations.
Leader L1 from P1 does not acknowledge communication, misses deadlines citing excuses and is constantly late for meetings. Leader L2 from P2 acknowledges or responds within an hour, meets deadlines 95% of the time and in those 5% where he does not, there is an advance communication of what is going wrong, sends minutes from his part within 2 hours and follows up on his actions.
Which team do you think performs better?
Who do you think gets my future business?