Thinking Differently About Leadership
Most people think of leadership as a title. Generally, it is represented by an individual performing a role, such as a manager or team leader to provide guidance and directive to others within a business. Whilst it is important to have structure within the team (and to have guidance and direction), we think about leadership a little differently…
In our opinion, a leader is someone who does much more than lead others and provide direction.
We believe leadership is the way an individual thinks and behaves on a day-to-day basis – regardless of their title. It takes both attitude and action.
Our view is that leaders operate from a place of empathy and humility, that they are self-aware (in a state of conscious choice) and no matter what their role is, they think and behave as if they are an owner – with a strong desire to continue learning and improving, to deliver excellence.
Because of this, we believe it’s important for everyone within an organisation to think and behave like a leader, here’s why;
Increased team engagement
Team members are more likely to have a higher level of engagement if they are encouraged to think and behave like an owner. They are also more likely to voice concerns or participate in making decisions.
This improves efficiency and effectiveness when implementing business improvements, because you have a team that have actively participated in making the decision (e.g. everyone is onboard).
It also means you get a variety of perspectives which ultimately improves the quality of the decisions being made.
Effective stewardship
When team members are required to make decisions within their role, they think about things more deeply, considering the impact on all stakeholders and what the experience will be, before taking any action. This is very important, particularly in our line of work.
The result of this is a highly capable team, made up of individuals who make good quality decisions quickly, rather than waiting for (or relying on) others to tell them what to do.
High level of accountability
Finally, one of the most important factors of having everyone within the team behave in this way, is the increased level of accountability.
If team members think and behave as if they are an owner, they will make decisions more carefully, participate (if not drive) organisational improvements for the benefit of all stakeholders and take direct responsibility for their work. An example of this is staying behind or coming to the office early to meet a commitment or a deadline.
An outcome of high levels of accountability across the team is trust – the most important factor for our profession. This is both trust from our clients to us, and to each other (within the team).
Overall, we believe by encouraging everyone in our organisation to think and behave like leaders it creates a strong, resilient, collaborative team that are deeply committed to achieving our common purpose – a rich experience of life.