Being a leader of people should be viewed as a privilege, not everyone gets to experience this in their career.
As a leader it is your job to provide a working environment that is safe, protected, and secure.
You need to be the buffer between your team and the CEO, Head Office, the Board, or other stakeholders that can derail your team’s focus and success.
Give your team the right amount of information, and by that, I mean commensurate with their current capability. Far too often leaders overload employees beyond their skill set, only to set them up for failure.
The one that really fails is the leader!
Provide the right tools and training, stand aside (be available when they need you) and let them get on with it – nothing worse than a micro-manager looking over the shoulder of an employee.
Watch what you delegate, don’t let your direct reports and lines get bogged down with stuff that doesn’t produce anything. Take away as many administrative tasks as possible – focus on what will get you a return and ensure their job satisfaction.
Don’t turn your team into ‘tick-a-box’ employees. Neither the person being evaluated, nor the evaluator enjoys this.
When, not if, things go awry, take ownership of your team’s mistakes, face the issue – reflect on how you could have prepared your team better.
And when things go well, step aside, let your team bask in the limelight, after all, they have no doubt done all the hard yards on the ground!
There is no need to be the centre of attention when you achieve the team’s goals, smart people will know that you as a leader provided the guidance and support.
We need more Nelson’s in this world…
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