S.I.M.P.L.E. Leadership - Final Installment

 

Encourage Your Leaders Along the Way

I have trained, equipped, and launched my leaders, now what?  Things would certainly be easier if the answer to that question was, “sit back and watch them go.”  However, things are rarely that simple.  Leaders will need continued training, continued encouragement, and yes, even accountability. 

I have spent the last three years of my life closely examining the art of leadership.  I hate to boil things down too simply, but I really have come to the conclusion that the difference in a good leader and a great leader is one’s ability to hold others accountable.  Having a vision for the organization you lead is pretty common.  Wanting to be a success at what you do is even more common.  However, the difference in those who reach greatness and those who don’t will come down to whether or not the leaders within the organization are held, and hold others, accountable.

Accountability is little more than encouraging people to do the right thing.  People sometimes need reminded, sometimes they need encouraged, and at other times they truly need questioned as to why they did not fulfill their obligations.  Here are a few principles to keep in mind when encouraging others to excel in their area of responsibility:

1.  Give them an opportunity to self-correct.

When a task is not accomplished or not accomplished well, ask the individual responsible what happened.  Once they share their insight as to what happened, ask them what could have been done differently.  A good follow up question would be one related to how the situation will be handled next time.

2.  If there is no self-correction, offer a preferable approach for the next time.

There are times that people will not understand what went wrong.  This is the time that you, as the leader of leaders, must step in and suggest both what went wrong and what could have been done differently.

3.  If direction is not received gratefully, or is repeatedly needed, then it may be time to remove the individual from leadership.

There are people who love the title of “leader” or “manager,” but actually leading or managing is not high on their list.  These are people who have sacrificed the right to be in that position.  If the leader of leaders will remove someone from their post, it will send a powerful message as to the level of expectation to the rest of the team.  If someone is allowed to maintain a leadership post that does not truly lead, the morale of the whole organization will be impacted.  Make sure that the leaders who lead well are honored.  One way to honor them is by not allowing poor leaders to remain in their positions.