Leadership is an art
A leader who breathes the business, believes that everything is possible, sees you and genuinely takes the mission they have seriously with an important dose of humor, can that be a good leader? Leadership can include many desired qualities and personality traits. I believe that good leadership is a balance between your own desires of how you want to be as a leader and what your employees want. It is not possible to adapt to everyone, but it is possible to set a clear framework of what can be expected from you as a leader. Therein also worth having the ability to be flexible for one-off interventions such as new hiring, new roles, reorganization, etc. But what does setting a clear framework mean? I write about this below under the heading ‘ Communication is key‘.
Managing other people is an art, regardless of the context. For me, leadership in its overall form is about the ability to inspire the masses (whether two or twenty-five people). You may not be able to reach everyone, but you need to have the ability and intention to reach enough people to make a difference. And that you inspire trust from the very beginning, although as a new leader it can take time to gain the trust of others, you need to inspire trust.
Personal leadership
Your personal leadership is as important as any other leadership. Who do you want to be and how do you want to lead yourself? What if we were to lead ourselves as we wish to lead others (inspiring, helping hand, lifting etc), instead of being like a leader who lives by the motto “management by fear”. Take that thought with you the next time you tell yourself that you are not good enough.
Communication is key
Communication about what leadership means is an important key to finding a balance. Leadership that is not working needs to be looked at from several different angles. Like the coin, the view of a specific leadership does not have only one side. What is not working? Are there imbalances in the leader? Are there unclear frameworks that make employees (and the manager) unsure of what the expectations and requirements are? I would also like to add, by referring to a previous post about how we have different perceptions of words, and that we carry different values, truths, etc. We need to take this into account when looking at what is not working and ways to improve. If there is a framework, find out whether it means the same for everyone, or whether there are differences in interpretation.
Ex. Leadership should be carried out with commitment, presence and trust in employees. It may seem obvious to the reader. But you don’t read with anyone else’s eyes but your own. So how do you know that your interpretation is consistent with those of others. So, think about what commitment, presence and trust mean for the leader and those affected by the leadership. When we communicate and reflect fully, there is less room for misunderstandings and interpretations that lead to dissatisfaction and lower productivity.
Tips!
Think about what qualities you think a good leader should have. Also, explain what you mean by a word such as ‘e.g.’. inspiring. What is inspiring to you? (it is not necessarily the same for another person or the leader you are talking about).
Read this post for more tips and ideas on leadership.
/Rebecca
Ps. Contact me if you want to work on values, key communication and/or dynamic and holistic leadership. [email protected]
