Leadership in 2017 & beyond

There is the 'carrot and stick' method and there is inspiration - the grown up version of leadership

 

With the challenge of facing a more and more complex and diverse workforce made up by remote, flexible and part-time workers, boomerang employees working alongside Millennials and artificial intelligence becoming part of our human teams, strong and real leadership skills are more important than ever before.

 

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Leadership and Engagement Coach was our expert for the month of August and with her sweet spot in technical leadership coaching, working with the scenery mentioned above is her daily reality already.

 

 

“Leadership is about getting people to do what you want.

For that you have 2 options: the motivational way – using carrot and stick, pull and push and finding the right balance for both. And there is the inspirational way – addressing the underlying motivations and drivers and bring them out.”

 

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Fact is, in our busy world, we don’t have time to constantly hold the carrot and the stick to ‘reward and punish’ people. So whilst the inspirational way might take longer to figure out, it is more sustainable and gets you real and long-lasting results.

Key to make it - and really, everything - happen is Connection.

And with that, we don’t mean the fluffy stuff but the real deal – knowing each other, building trust and with that a relationship so we understand how to inspire each other to do not only what is the right thing but doing it in the best way possible.

Building a relationship requires genuine interest in each other, having conversations and finding out what makes each other tick, gets us excited and out of bed and how we can leverage this fire in the belly for everyone’s advantage.

 

Showing Leadership however, starts well before the on-boarding or the actual management of a new staff member. It starts with the business vision and values, having a clear idea of what they actually mean and translate them into actionable outcomes.

How can you guide others where to go when you don’t even know where you go?

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The biggest let down of leadership is unreal or unclear expectation.

Employees don’t leave an organization but they leave people: it may be because they don’t feel supported in their development and journey, don’t feel part of a bigger picture or appreciated that their input makes an impact.

Once you know your values, how they translate into actions – strategically as well as operationally and identified the talent you need to make the vision become a reality, you then can get started with the recruitment and on-boarding process.

Again – it comes down to a consistent flow of information and carry valuable insights about a person through each step so that when a new team member has joined the organization, the leader already has a good understanding of the person, their drivers, motivators and triggers.

 

One of the most overlooked ways of developing teams and individual skill sets is mentoring.

Whilst coaching is a great way to help someone identify their way of doing things by asking the right questions, mentoring is about sharing experience with less experienced staff from someone who has been there and done that.

This is a nice way to connect junior staff with seniors, Baby Boomers with Gen X and Millennials. Both parties feel valued not just because their expertise and experience are valued in the organization (and hands on heart – who doesn’t like recognition for their efforts?) but also shows that someone is important for the organization to invest in as they see the potential and want to see them grow further.

 

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Having connections that are meaningful for all parties involved requires a good understanding of each other but also oneself.

When you don’t know what makes you get out of bed and excited to be on this world, how can you inspire others to put in 110% in what they do?

Human nature’s way is taking the easy path, so if we don’t see and feel the reward when putting in the hard work, nobody will do it.

And getting someone excited means taking them on the journey and show the vision you have for what you do and how this person can be integral part of it to make an impact!

 

So start today with yourself and ask yourself the questions:

‘What brings fire in my belly, what makes me get out of bed?’

'What would I like others say about me when I am no longer on this earth, what is my legacy?’

 

Leadership is taking the lead and you can’t take on responsibilities over someone else’s life if you are not in control of your own. If you want more clarity on how to be(come) a better leader, connect with Therese HERE. If you are not quite sure what your passions and strengths are, get in touch for a 1:1 consultation HERE to find out if leadership is the right path for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Petra ZinkimpaCCCt