Great Leadership is genius in disguise.
Leadership is the life of an organization.
When leaders create a safe environment at work, employees thrive and the company is
given pure devotion in return.
In this video we are going to look at what it takes to be an effective leader, and how
great leaders inspire action.
Simon Sinek self described optimist and author on leadership compares leadership to parenting;
He explains that when you commit to leadership, you are responsible for the lives of others,
and this comes with personal sacrifice.
“It’s damn hard work!
“The risks are very real and when things go wrong, you have to take full responsibility.
“
He sees leadership as a muscle that needs to grow and develop over time, and that true
leadership is constantly worked on in private.
You could compare it to exercise whereby consistency is more important than intensity.
If you go to the gym for six hours in one day, you might feel either good yet severely
exhausted however that one intense effort is not going to hit your goal of reducing
your body fat by 30 pounds.
But going daily for 30 minutes will have a profound effect on your health goal.
The same is with leadership, giving a morale boosting talk on Monday to the team pointing
out great work is one thing, then to scold employees the next morning to the point of
tears is a contradiction to the role of a leader.
The problem with leadership is that we easily confuse job position and leadership, thinking
they come as a package.
They are not the same thing.
The irony is, a CEO or Manager who is above you in a large organisation is there because
they have made a series of decisions to get them that position.
The problem is that their excessive self pride and overconfidence in their position of seniority
leads our brain to think we are subservient, as they are above us, they must be better
than us or as they earn significantly more, they must be again, be better than us.
We take this information and blur this into thinking their seniority must mean they are
leaders and even good ones.
Most of the time leaders fail under what Sinek defines as a “A lack of courage.”
Being unconfident can be the ignition for a so called leader to lash out on employees
and subsequently create high stress environments.
When this happens, as employees we feel threatened, and psychologically unsafe and this inhibits
empathy.
As a result, within the brain we release cortisol, the stress hormone which can derail our clarity
and output dramatically.
One of the biggest misconceptions organisations face, is that “Bad leaders think pitting
their people against each other makes them stronger.
Yet it breeds internal competition and a lack of psychological safety (in the form of layoffs
and internal politics).
You biologically drive the empathy right out of the organization,”
Simon's definition of leadership is important to understand as it inspires clarity.
“ Leadership is a responsibility.
It’s not about being in charge.
It’s about taking care of those in your charge.
Though you may have rank, that doesn’t make you a leader.
We call you a leader not because you’re at the top.
We call you a leader because you chose to take the risk to go first; first into the
unknown, first into the danger, to protect your people, and to help them achieve more
than they thought they were capable of.
That’s why we call you a leader and afford you the perks of leadership.
It’s our way of saying thank you.”
In Simon's great book “Start with WHY.
“
He points out that everyone in an organization knows "WHAT" it is that they do.
Even some know "HOW" they do it.
But, very few know "WHY" they do what they do.
He points out that employees fail to understand the value they are providing.
"why" means: 1.
What's your purpose?
2.
What's your cause?
3.
Why should anyone care?
4.
What's your belief?
5.
Why does your organization exist?
Sinek points out that great leadership is fuelled from a driving purpose.
This is the most powerful "WHY" a person can have, to serve others.
If you show up and serve everyday in the best way possible, you will win in business and
life.
Try it yourself, find your "WHY" through goal setting, use these three pointers;
1.
Define clear personal, family and health goals.
These are your "WHY" goals.
2.
Determine your personal professional development goals.
These are your "HOW" or Process goals.
3.
Then set your career and financial goals as your roadmap.
This is known as your "WHAT" goals.
In business it's very simple if you don't know why you do what you do, then how will
anyone else.
This is why clarity is the biggest asset to a leader.
Clarity is the language that employees and then customers will understand.
As a leader you need to build your following internally before you can tackle the external
environment.
And once you understand with clarity why you are in business all future decisions can be
measured against the why of the organization
"People don't buy "what" you do, they buy "why" you do it" - Simon Sinek
So you understand WHY you do what you do, then next facet is the HOW.
How you go about answering your why is all to do with discipline . You have to become
both accountable and consistent with daily action.
Steve Jobs the founder of Apple wanted to put “a ding in the universe” . He did
this through creating the most intuitive products that consumers didn't even know they needed.
Each day he would push his employees to do more, and do better.
He did this in hiring people he felt were smarter than him to raise output consistently.
Whilst he was heavily involved in the product creation process he also understood the impact
of marketing, pr and culture so he consistently created an environment of excellence.
“Be a yardstick of quality.
Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
Steve Jobs
It is very simple, being a leader means you are in charge of others, and to be in charge
you need others to follow your lead.
In order to lead trust must be established, trust is not a tickbox or a list, it is feeling
that a company or organization is looking out for others ahead of their own self interest.
And this trust can only be earned if you establish and adhere to the why of your organization
on a daily basis.
Herb Kelleher - former CEO and founder of Southwest Airlines stated “ It's the company's
responsibility to look after your employees first.
Happy employees ensures happy customers.
Happy customers ensures happy shareholders - in that order.”
Being a leader means building your own self confidence each day whilst empowering your
employees, this can come through education, active listening and coaching.
When this is employed the organization will thrive.
To lead means to go first, and take the risk before anyone else does.
Reap the gains of the role, but be the first to say It is my fault.
You must protect your people so they can be safe, and remain loyal.
“Ask the waiter how they’re doing, and actually care about the answer.
Stop and ask the butcher how they would cook their steak, show genuine curiosity.
Practise this habit daily and take this curiosity to work with you.
If you catch yourself in the lift with the intern or the CFO, show interest in their
life.
Go deeper ‘than have a good evening.’
Ask about specifics and look for a connection for you to build on.
When you foster rapport with others, it can become infectious.
Wouldn't you like a rumour to go around that you are the best leader someone has ever worked
for?
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