Leadership is about building up the people around you

Leadership is such a commanding term that it’s easy to overlook that at its best, it’s simply influence. People in your organization want to know what direction to go and your cues often tell them everything they need to know.

I’d like to share a recent story of an instance when a change in leadership definately didn’t work and why. The new regime, quickly shifted focus to immediate bottom line results. What followed was a wave of cost-cutting terminations of some excellent,  long term employees.

This type of short term thinking is almost always guaranteed to result in long-term headaches.

Sometimes the term leader is misused. I’ve seen individuals placed in leadership positions without the skills, knowledge, ability and personalities to truly lead.

In many cases, these individuals come into the role with little confidence or were blinded by power and greed. It would be laughable if the end results weren’t so awful. Leaders have to look out for those they lead. And those who don’t quickly lose the commitment of employees to the organization.  

The true success of any business is not the bottom line, but the ability to create a service and product people clamour for and want. And creating this kind of success requires that employees believe  the organization is doing the right things at the right time for the right reasons.

In the particular situation noted above, I watched as individuals who developed a magnificent business based on trust, belief and likeability were shown the door, as the business itself slowly fell apart.

For those of you that think you’re leaders, or those of you who hope to be leaders, or those of you who have been put in leadership positions, consider what your ultimate goal is. Your goal should be to build a great business, not for the short term, but for the long term. Your goals should be to bring the people around you up, not down.

You have to be constant in your commitment to communication, fairness and honesty. Following these basic tenants will certainly make you feel better, and ultimately create an excellent product and long term success.

I offer one-on-one coaching to help busy professionals develop the leadership skills to succeed in any workplace. If this sounds like something you could use please get in touch.