Planning your Leadership Journey

Being part of the leadership team in any organisation is an accolade many people aspire to. This position comes with responsibilities and challenges which can lead to growth and transformation. So how can you make your leadership journey a success? Based on my seventeen years experience of leadership, I have identified three elements that can help you navigate your leadership journey. These are:

1. Trust: As a leader, you are responsible for building a culture of trust within your team because it helps your team to feel psychologically safe. Your team should be able to trust that you will stand beside them in all situations. Therefore, I would encourage you to first reflect on this core value of trust and identify the behaviours that can help you to build trust within your team. Some of these behaviours include keeping your promises being transparent and owning up to your mistakes and it is important that you demonstrate these behaviours at all times. Many studies have shown that “Trust Matters; one such study is Kurt Dirks and Donald Ferrin in 2002. In addition, a survey of CEOS’s conducted by PWC show that 55% of CEOS’s reported that “lack of trust is a threat to organisational growth.” Therefore, the importance of trust cannot be underestimated. So what are the things you must start doing to build trust within your team?

2. Recognition: Acknowledging and showing appreciation for all team members is crucial. This simple act can help to boost morale and motivate your team. Appreciation can take various forms – public, private, tangible. Always remember that your team members are unique and each will have their own recognition preference. Some would love an email which is copied to the entire team whilst others would prefer a private message. Some would love a cake whilst others would love a card. Last of all, these five words can go a long way, “Thanks. I value your contributions.”  Moving forward, I would like you to think of one new way you can show your appreciation to your team.

3. Communication, Communication, Communication: Think about how you communicate with your team. Do you use varied styles of communication? Are your emails clear and free of jargon? Are your meetings purposeful or just a tick box exercise? As a leader, you must understand the communication style of each team member and monitor changes. These changes can give you a clue to a team member’s inner thought. As an example, a team member whose communication style changes from a detailed email response to a “one liner” might be a red flag. As a leader, you are responsible for monitoring this and taking steps to understand the reason for the change.

To conclude, I would encourage you to reflect on the three elements – Trust, Recognition and Communication and share your experience.