Let’s face it—the better you are as a leader, the more productive your team is. And that increased productivity directly impacts the bottom line.
Some leadership practices and behaviours are downright demotivating for their team members.
In fact, Gallop’s research tells us that a leader has a whopping 70% impact on how motivated their team members are.
There Can Be Intense Consequences If A Leader:
- Turns a blind eye to poor performance.
(It’s frustrating and demotivating to other team members—100% of the time.)
- Is guarded and insincere when communicating.
(Your team will guess at what’s going on if you’re not candid. And your lack of candour will have them feeling disrespected and devalued— and sometimes insecure too.)
- Doesn’t have their heart in their job.
(Indifference and half-heartedness will provoke indifference and half-heartedness in your team members. I guess indifferent leaders won’t be reading this blog though :-).)
Here’s Where I’m Going With This…
I read a Seth Godin article, the gist of which was:
“In any given meeting most people are merely showing up…Every once in a while, though, someone is on their toes.
We can’t be on our toes all the time. It’s too exhausting and we can’t keep it up.
But what happens if we decide, right here and right now, at least for a little while, we’ll act as if it’s the first time, or the last time, or our best shot?
What would happen if we all got on our toes? Just for a little while?
That’s when big things happen.“
And That’s What Got Me Thinking—
Thinking About These Two Easy Steps To You Being An Even Better Leader
Step One:
Get up on your toes.
Ask yourself,“If I were an even better leader, what would I be doing or not doing?”
Step Two:
Stay up on your toes.
Turn your answer into action.
Your Call To Action
How often are you prepared to ask yourself, “If I were an even better leader, what would I be doing or not doing?”?
Daily, weekly, monthly? You decide.
The important thing is that you make a habit of asking the question—and actioning your answer.
It’ll impact how motivated your team members are—and that will have an important impact on productivity and on the bottom line.
Maybe you’d like to try this exercise in a team meeting too—only if you’d like each team member to “be even better” as well 🙂
Keep your responses rolling in. I enjoy hearing about your thinking and your experiences :-).
“Carolyn’s authenticity and candour impressed me immediately
and her wealth of experience gave me complete confidence in her abilities.
She has helped me unleash my true capability and leverage skills
to be a more effective leader.”
—Senior Leader, Aviation Industry
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Carolyn Stevens has worked with leaders for more than 25-years—hundreds of them.
She’s supported leader after leader (including those who previously struggled to confront the difficult, let alone persuasively deal with the it) flourish—and become confident, courageous and impressively influential.
Carolyn is authentic and results-oriented. She draws on an eclectic array of approaches, tools and techniques to suit the situation.
