Could you summarize in one or two words what leadership is all about?
Let me try.
Leadership is about securing engagement.
I appreciate there are many other facets to modern leadership. Still, if I can point to one fear that great leaders have in common, it is about losing their team’s engagement.
Talking from experience, in the jobs I genuinely enjoyed, my boss had something to do with it. I felt engaged, went the extra mile, and reaped the rewards with a smile because I felt supported and empowered.
In contrast, the jobs I felt the most miserable at were where I was very unclear on how my performance was perceived. I lacked critical feedback. I was lost, felt insecure, and eventually moved on.
Study after study, the numbers keep showing that the number one reason people leave their jobs is the lack of recognition for their contributions.
Having a boss who believes in you is a game changer, especially when you’re still fresh in your career.
Once I became a team leader, I made it a point always to be as unequivocal as possible on what I thought of my team members’ contributions and performance.
But, despite my efforts, some team members would still feel insecure and less engaged.
It was a harsh reminder that dealing with other human beings also means you have to handle personalities and egos.
Giving them objective and constructive feedback to help their self-awareness is essential. But it’s simply not enough.
Here’s why: when receiving feedback, we all tend to elevate the part that reinforces our ego. We also tend to discount the input we dislike, not to hurt that same ego or image. I’ve seen it go to extremes where some team members would avoid feedback altogether for fear of not looking good.
With experience, I learned how to discern better when someone mainly was looking for constructive feedback they could use to grow. I also better identified when it was more about channeling insecurities and getting a self-esteem boost.
Both situations should elicit feedback that is fact and evidence-based. But for insecure team members, I’d go beyond the project at hand, provide a clear judgment call – positive or negative -, and open up the dialog on possible evolutions.
Let’s take an example:
Here’s Jayne. She’s excellent at analyzing complex situations and building scenarios. Still, she’s not putting enough effort into educating and persuading her colleagues about these. As a result, most of her work stays unnoticed, and some preventable mistakes are made. She’s losing confidence and trust in the organization.
I’m leveraging our one-to-one meeting to go over the issue, saying something like:
“Jayne, you keep demonstrating your ability to go deeper in your analysis and provide critical thinking. Spot on! However, your peers don’t seem to leverage your skill set enough. As a result, too many mistakes are made. I can sense your frustration with this. What approaches would you suggest to remedy the situation”?
I trust you get the idea. Recognize and proactively handle your team’s insecurities, while putting them in the driver’s seat.
It will go a long way for them to see that their contributions are appreciated.
They’ll enjoy their work more, stay motivated and even solve impossible problems for you!