3 Powerful Ways to Solve Lousy Leadership
The most dangerous quality of lousy leadership is the belief that they’re good leaders.
Lousy leaders:
- Feel superior to the team.
- Work in isolation.
- Feel confused about values.
- Run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off.
- Never screw up.
- Neglect personal development.
3 powerful ways to solve lousy leadership:
#1. Make room for growth by believing you need to grow, even if you think you’ve arrived. You rose to leadership because of competence. Now you need to believe, or at least pretend you’re incompetent, at least a little.
Practice humility, even if you don’t feel humble.
5 ways to grow by practicing humility:
- Spend a few days doing the real work in your organization.
- Share what you’re learning. Stop pretending you already knew what you learned.
- Say I could be wrong, even if you feel right.
- Admire the competence of others.
- Hang with people who are better than you, without trying to outdo them.
#2. Develop leaders. The best way to become a better leader is to help others become better leaders. (As long as you embrace #1. in this list.
You aren’t a leader if you spend most of your time dealing with things and theories.
- How are the people on your team better leaders because of you?
- What are you doing to personally, actively, and systematically develop leaders?
- Can you name three people you are systematically developing?
Leadership development is never an accident.
#3. Clarify the 7 essential functions of leadership.
- Fight distraction by explaining what matters now.
- Inspire and fuel optimism. Remove the term motivation from your vocabulary.
- Give meaning to daily behaviors.
- Connect with people on a personal level.
- Live organizational values.
- Create alignment.
- Make people feel powerful.
What strategies help solve the problem of lousy leaders?
What functions would you add to the “7 essential functions of leadership?”
This entire post speaks very powerfully about what leaders have to do, day in and day out, to maintain their own growth and develop others. I spent the last four years before retirement focusing closely on your #2. Like me, most of our command level people were nearing retirement, and we wanted to leave the agency in capable hands and moving forward. When I left, my success to that point varied, with some folks being where I wanted them to be, developmentally, but with others who still had a way to go. (My fault as much or more than theirs.) I “passed the torch” to the most able young leaders and challenged them to continue and expand the development process. Since retirement in mid-2014, I have kept in touch with some of these folks and continue to monitor their progress from a distance. Unfortunately, an election has put a poor leader (putting it mildly) at the helm of the organization. Nevertheless, the “true believers” continue to soldier on, doing what they can at their levels to maintain and create excellence, in a now-hostile administrative environment. I have forwarded a link to this post to several of them. Thanks Dan, for another insightful and thoughtful post.
Good morning Dan;
Nobody ever said leadership was ‘easy’. It’s NOT, and the truth is, “it SHOULDN’T be.”
Leading (should be), a priveledge bestowed upon only those who are genuinlly deserving.
Those who are chosen for leadership positions msut think BIGGER. They have to put the needs and concerns of others before thier own. Not only must leaders focus on the present. They must concider the past in order to forecast a positive future.
There are many striking simularities between being a leader, and being a father. Like a father, a leader must shower his children with love, attention, and affirmation. When dicapline is nesassary you do so in a compassionate manner that shows people ‘the right thing to do’, but in a way that inspires them to do thier very best. You can’t beat people over the head with your power, authority, or harsh criticisms. when you do, those cricisms can last a lifetime resulting in lack-luster effort at best.
(LEADERS), if you want the best from your people, “Give em your best…”
Cheers Dan;
SGT Steve
Great Post, I agree , most of time we will tend to struck with values and personal development. That stops the growth.
Terrific Dan! I would like to contribute to the list of seven if I may with the addition of “create a shared vision”. This step involves everyone and allows for individual ownership. Individuals need to feel vested in the process for them to involve themselves and It is this element that opens the door to developing your people.
Brent;
Spoken like a true ‘Leadership-Guru’!