Leadership is a bit of a controversial topic because it is very rare to come across people who will explain what leadership is in the same manner. From Bill Gates to John Maxwell, you will come across leadership being linked to power or management skills but I came across a definition that I found to be very relatable. Kevin Kruse writes that leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. This definition struck a chord with me because it brings the people that are being led to focus. Many of us have had to deal with leaders who not only micromanage but leave you drained with how often you need to report back to them. How then do you work with such a leader in situations where you need to learn from them and work towards a common goal? When things get hard people look to their leaders to come up with solutions but they also want to feel like they have been considered in said decision.

Many strategies can be discussed on how to be a great leader but the most important thing to keep in mind - as with every relationship - is that you need to know the people that you are leading and what they need. When people have it in their minds that you are not a relatable leader it becomes hard for them to trust you and that is not something that a leader needs. A vote of no confidence means that it will be hard for you to share your vision with the people you are leading and they don’t want to actively participate in it. Keeping in mind the definition of Kevin Kruse that includes “maximizing people's effort” I realized that the leader relies on other people as these are the people that have the power to steer the vision of the leader.

We have heard the analogy of being in a sinking ship and making sure that everyone in the ship is working towards your survival and not making the hole bigger. When we have a person in the ship whose sole purpose is to ensure that people are not drilling the ship further that is our leader. The first step the leader has to take is to make sure that everyone in the ship understands that their lives are at risk and the first step is to identify where the hole is and work towards patching it up while others scoop the water out. Unfortunately, some leaders will only announce that the ship is sinking with no mention of how to rectify the problem and that causes panic and all people hear is that they are about to lose their lives.

When you are aware of what the people around you need and what it is that they are working towards it becomes easier for you to motivate them. When you are in crisis and the ship is sinking and you are aware that Jack has been working towards taking their sibling to school and Jill is working towards providing care for her chronically ill mother motivating Jack and Jill is made easy. When the going gets tough and Jack and Jill feel like they have no morale to continue working towards the immediate goal (that seems to be the leaders) you can remind them of their own goals that they are working towards. Being manipulative is not what I am referring to here and that is when integrity comes into play.

When the characteristics of a leader are being discussed you will come across being self-aware, strategic thinking, and innovation among others and we tend to forget about empathy, communication, and integrity. These are the qualities that every leader needs to have to be relatable. As a leader when you know the people you are leading it becomes easier to communicate with the people that you work with. When the people that you work with are aware of your empathy and you have a history of integrity it is easy for them to trust you.

Leadership is not only seen during a crisis but how you handle the people that you work with daily is what informs peoples' opinions on whether they can trust you in a crisis. If you are an understanding leader who understands that people work with you and not for you it is easy for people to relate to your goal and vision because they know that they are safe by your side. As a leader, you should keep in mind that your actions towards the people you are leading will influence how they act in a crisis. Whether people choose to abandon the ship or start taking the ship apart so that they have a piece of wood to float on depends on the treatment they received before they even got on the ship.

What is your leadership vision? What kind of leader do you want to be? What makes a great leader? You see, that´s not an easy question to answer, because everyone will answer it differently. Great Leadership means something different to everyone.

Therefore, first and foremost, it´s important for you to know what kind of a leader YOU WANT TO BE! What kind of skills do you need to be the leader you want yourself to be? How do you want to treat your team? What characteristics are important?

In my 4 weeks course become the leader you want to be this is one of the questions we are looking at. The four weeks will be structured like this:
Week 1: Self-perception "How are you as a leader"
Week 2: Vision "How do you aspire to be as a leader?"
Week 3: Reality Check "How are you perceived as a leader?"
Week 4: Action "What are my next steps to be the leader I want to be?"
Sounds straight forward? It is, you just need to do it! Follow my proven program. We started on the 10th of October. This is a program that I developed when training to be an even better leadership coach.

Self-Leadership is a stand-alone course and as well part of my leadership program MOVE UP!
Click here if you are interested in the program to get the most recent information. Here is a link to book a discovery session with me to find out if I am the right coach for you.