Value #1
A LEADERSHIP TEAM IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN JUST ONE LEADER
Leadership is a complicated and difficult skill, one that no single person ever masters. There are some things I do well as a leader and some I do poorly. I’m sure it is the same for you. Even the greatest leaders from history had blind spots and weak areas.
For teams to develop at every level, they need leaders at every level.
So what’s the solution? Organizations need to develop leadership teams at every level! A group of leaders working together is always more effective than one leader working alone. And for teams to develop at every level, they need leaders at every level.
LEADERS WHO BUILD TEAMS
As a leader in the middle, if you develop a team, you will be making your organization better and helping it to fulfill its vision. You will be adding value no matter where you serve in the organization. As you do that, keep the following ideas in mind:
1. VISIONARY LEADERS ARE WILLING TO HIRE PEOPLE BETTER THAN THEMSELVES
One leader I interviewed for this book said that a pivotal moment in his leadership journey occurred when someone asked him, “If you could hire someone who you knew would move the organization forward, but you would have to pay them more than your salary, would you hire them?” He said that question really arrested him. He thought about it long and hard, and when he finally concluded that he would, it changed the way he viewed his team and himself.
360-Degree Leaders are willing to hire people better than themselves. Why? Because their desire is to fulfill the vision. That is paramount. Anytime leaders find themselves being selfish or petty, they can be sure that they have wandered far from the vision. The way to get back on track is to put the vision first, and let everything else settle back to its rightful place.
2. WISE LEADERS SHAPE THEIR PEOPLE INTO A TEAM
Leaders begin to develop wisdom when they realize they can’t do anything significant on their own. Once they realize that, leaders can also develop more humility and begin working to build a team.
Each of us needs others on the team to complete us. 360-Degree Leaders don’t build teams so that others can take a menial role and serve them. They don’t hire others to do the dirty work or to become errand runners. They look for the best people they can find so that the team is the best it can be.
Chris Hodges said that one of the ways he learned the value of teamwork was by observing congressmen doing their work in Washington, D.C. When representatives want to propose a bill, the first thing they do is find a cosponsor. If they can find someone across the aisle, all the better. Chris takes that practice to heart. He said that before he tries to accomplish anything, the first thing he does is build a team of people who believe in what they are doing. A team of people will always be more powerful than an individual working alone.
3. SECURE LEADERS EMPOWER THEIR TEAMS
Wayne Schmidt says, “No amount of personal competency compensates for personal insecurity.” That is so true. Insecure leaders always have to go first. They are consumed with themselves. And that self-focus often drives them to bring second-best people around them.
On the other hand, secure leaders focus on others, and they want others to do well. They are happy to let their teams get all the credit. Their desire to see others succeed drives them to equip, train, and empower their people well. Anytime you focus on others, empowerment naturally becomes the by-product.
“No amount of personal competency compensates for personal insecurity.”
—WAYNE SCHMIDT
4. EXPERIENCED LEADERS LISTEN TO THEIR TEAMS
Experienced leaders listen before they lead. General Tommy Franks said:
Generals are not infallible. The army doesn’t issue wisdom when it pins on the stars. Leading soldiers as a general means more than creating tactics and giving orders. Officers commanding brigades and battalions, the company commanders and the platoon leaders—all of them know more about their unit strengths and weaknesses than the general who leads them. So a successful general must listen more than he talks.1
Immature leaders lead first, then listen afterward—if they listen at all. Anytime leaders don’t listen, they don’t know the heartbeat of their people. They don’t know what their followers need or want. They don’t know what’s going on. Good leaders understand that the people closest to the work are the ones who are really in the know.
Immature leaders lead first, then listen afterward.
If your people aren’t following, you need to listen more. You don’t need to be more forceful. You don’t need to find more leverage. You don’t need to come down on them. If you listen, they will be much more inclined to follow.
5. PRODUCTIVE LEADERS UNDERSTAND THAT ONE IS TOO SMALL A NUMBER TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS
Over the past twenty-five years, I’ve watched the trends in business and nonprofits, and the solutions that organizations use to improve and to solve problems. I’ve seen a definite pattern. Perhaps you’ve seen it too.
• In the 1980s, the word was management. The idea was that a manager was needed to create consistency. (The goal was to keep standards from slipping.)
• In the 1990s, the key concept was leadership by an individual. Organizations saw that leaders were needed because everything was changing so quickly.
• In the 2000s, the idea is team leadership. Because leading an organization has become so complex and multifaceted, the only way to make progress is to develop a team of leaders.
I think organizations are going to improve greatly as they develop teams, because leadership is so complex. You can’t do just one thing well and be a good leader. You can’t even lead in just one direction—you need the skills to lead up, across, and down! A leadership team will always be more effective than just one leader. And a team of 360-Degree Leaders will be more effective than other kinds of leadership teams.
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