A great mentor once defined for me the responsibilities that a leader has to embrace to capture the minds and hearts of the people they serve. It's my opinion that these responsibilities must be carried out at all cost. Even if that cost is having to walk away from an assignment that won't allow them to be fulfilled. I must admit I've had to make that difficult and frightening decision once in my career.
For any leader who is struggling to galvanize their team, I encourage you to evaluate how you're currently embracing these responsibilities in your own organization.
1. Upholding Core Values
Every good organization has at some point penned it's list of core values. If yours doesn't have one, perhaps that's a red flag you should consider. In any case, there's a difference between having core values and living the core values. A quality leader not only knows their company's values, but they model them and ensure their team understands why they're important. Furthermore, they holds themselves and the people they serve accountable to them.
2. Casting Missional Vision
Every team has a mission. The only question is do they understand what it is and how it's effectively executed. No matter what level you're leading at in your organization, it's critical that you ensure that every member of your team knows the answer to this question. It's surprising how many teams operate in a fog and think they're succeeding when they're in reality capturing the wrong hill. But, when you're leading and encouraging on the battlefield, your culture becomes centered on it's purpose and will faithfully execute the missions that are critical to your organization.
3. Creating Unity
It's very common in sports for the most talented teams to be defeated by the most united ones. This is true for so many reasons. United teams understand their roles, they're equipped to handle adversity, they respect each other, they trust each other, they share a common goal, they encourage each other, they give their best for their teammates and they put team goals before individual goals. And, at the center of it all is a coach who's a master at creating unity. You may be a gifted recruiter and have the most talented team in the company. But, if your team lacks unity, any success you pull out of them will be short lived.
4. Allowing Space for Achievement
The human spirit is a powerful thing. Even as toddlers, we cry out to our parents, "I do it!" We crave the feeling we get when we accomplish something without asking for help. As leaders, we need to remember this. As I mentioned earlier, we must make our teams aware of the mission, but we also must give them the freedom and trust needed for them to carry it out. The pressures in business today make this a difficult thing for leaders to do. But, when we don't allow this space, it manifests as micromanagement and helicopter leadership. Few things will erode a culture faster. The temptation is to watch every little thing your team does. However, you must understand that the mistakes you prevent will be grossly outweighed by the damage you do to your culture. Particularly to the strongest and most spirited members of your team.
5. Preparing Future Leaders
Nobody likes having high employee turnover. However, if your team has a consistent history of turnover due to promotion, you're doing something very right as a leader. It may be painful when you lose your best producers to a promotion, but it sends a very clear message to your organization. It says, "My leader cares about my future and is willing to make investments and sacrifices to help me prepare for it." I challenge you to find a blue chip employee who doesn't want to be a part of that leader's team! Before you know it, you'll be bringing in the best talent as quickly as you're losing it. The key is having a bench full of players that you're preparing every day for their moment to take the field. It involves so much additional work, but the impact on morale and productivity will blow you away!
So there you have it, five responsibilities that work together to build a unified culture and capture the hearts and minds of a world class team. When you reflect on your responsibilities as a leader, do these things make your list? How would your organization respond if you took responsibility for these actions everyday?
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