The Sizes and Shapes of Leadership

diceAs someone learning about leadership, you are often asked to describe the characteristics of a good leader and/or the characteristics of a bad leader.  A worthwhile exercise perhaps and one that often gets us focused on several important leadership behaviors.  As you learn more about great leaders and how they led, however, it quickly becomes clear that although they may have some things in common, they also have things that are unique about their approach to leadership.

One of the lessons myself and others have learned is that knowing my expectations and communicating these expectations is a key to building, developing, and growing a high performing team.

At the root of this lesson is a genuine belief that people want to do a good job and if they aren’t doing exactly what you expect of them, one of the explanations for this performance gap may be that your expectation and their expectation of what needs to be done may not match.

This lesson is actually not as easy to apply as it may seem at first glance.  This is because as leaders, and as humans, we are often very unaware of our expectations as they have become an unconscious part of ourselves.  A good way around this is to ask people questions about what they heard you say.

Another approach is to talk with a person who has worked with you for a while and ask “What tips would you give someone about working best with me?”

Of course there are other explanations for a performance gap, but before moving on to other reasons, it doesn’t hurt to create a solid communication process built on mutually understood expectations.

As a leader, what processes do you have in place to make sure your expectations are effectively communicated and understood?

Bookmark The Sizes and Shapes of Leadership

——————–
Kris Krueger, PhD is an Associate for a global strategy & technology consulting firm
She works with clients to transform their organization and deliver results

Email | LinkedIn | Blog


Your Door Isn’t Open if No One is Coming In

open-doorRegardless of whether or not your company has a formal “open door policy,” most of us have had someone say to us “my door is always open if you want to talk.”  As we have moved into positions of authority, we have perhaps even uttered these words to people that report to or work with us.

Behind this statement, of course, is the good intention of encouraging open communication.

As a leader, one of the lessons I’ve learned is that just saying anything is not enough, and in this particular situation, asking people to come to you when you are their “boss” is, in fact, asking a lot.

This isn’t a rocket-science-type of revelation, but just a “shout out” to the effort that needs to accompany these words.

It’s not enough to just encourage people to talk with you, and unfortunately the higher up you move in an organizational hierarchy, the harder you have to work to get accurate and timely information from those who report to you.

There are actions you can take to demonstrate that your words have meaning.  You can…

  • leave your door open
  • arrange your work area so that it invites “drop by” visits
  • stop working and talk to people when they stop by
  • not answer your phone when you’re in the middle of talking with someone
  • schedule regular one-on-one meetings
  • etc.

Although these types of actions are only one step towards building communication within your group, they are still critical actions that build communication processes and demonstrate that you are willing to do things to support what you say.

What other actions have you taken to encourage people to talk with you?

Bookmark Your Door Isn't Open if No One is Coming In

——————–
Kris Krueger, PhD is an Associate for a global strategy & technology consulting firm
She works with clients to transform their organization and deliver results

Email | LinkedIn | Blog

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