Leadership - It's A Team Sport!

Nearly a month ago I had the privilege of presenting on the topic of my blog to the Edmonton Chapter of Emerging Health Leaders.  The message I conveyed related to how no truly accomplished leader develops their capabilities nor ensures their success by walking their leadership path alone.  It takes a team of people - in various capacities - to develop one's leadership.

I believe this concept of a "team" helping you to succeed stands in sharp contrast to what many of us have traditionally seen as the image of the successful leader - strong, dominant, incredibly self-disciplined and motivated, a pioneer, charting their own leadership path, standing apart and above all others.  Any sense of relying on a team for support and development smacks of weakness and vulnerability.  Reaching out to others might actually be seen as an embarrassing admission that the Great and Powerful Oz is a mere sham hiding behind the proverbial curtain. Some leaders might dress this image up for modern times but there is still a too prevalent belief that one must find their own path and struggle through to the top on one's own merits and efforts.

However, if that model were so outstanding why do we still have widespread issues in both the public and private sector relating to workforce productivity, employee engagement, and turnover (both voluntary and involuntary)?  Perhaps worse than turnover in our workforce is the consequence of those employees who have "quit on the job".  By some estimates this can equate to as much as 20% of our workforce!

Like health and lifestyle choices (e.g., smoking, overeating, exercise) it's not that we lack for knowledge about what good leadership should look like.  Consider Jim Collins and Level 5 Leadership, Kouzes and Posner and Leadership Best Practices, Patrick Lencioni and the Five Dysfunctions of a Team.  Leadership demands of us a full range of skills and behaviors - IQ, EQ, change management skill, ability to vision and strategize, flexibility, adaptability, humility, and a willingness to continue to learn.

So you can continue to try and go it alone as a leader, or drag your staff behind you kicking and screaming on a journey they don't want to take (or aren't convinced you are qualified to lead) or you can get among your team, being willing to learn from them and do more than you could ever accomplish on your own.

I suggest that the starting point on this journey is self-awareness and not just that acquired from an unguided or unstructured process of self-reflection.  Rather, seek out input from a variety of sources to as objectively as possible critique your leadership capabilities and potential.  The key here is broad input - not just from your "friends" - that allows you to identify your strengths, your opportunities and your blind spots.  Start with courage and humility by asking your team for their views on you.

Seek out information and learning at all times.  Continuous learning must be your mantra and your philosophy.  In today's world, leadership requires flexibility, adaptability and resilience.  If information is power appreciate that information also goes out-of-date rapidly in today's world.  Experts are created anew every day.  Stay connected.  Hear, listen, evaluate and adjust.  Engage and expand your team of experts.

The strength of the information and advice you get is directly proportional  to the quality of the relationships you build. If there is no mutually beneficial relationship the information flow to you may be limited, non-existent or perhaps just coming in the form of "what the leader wants to hear".  So if you crave and value information for its ability to help you set direction and evaluate progress you need to foster high quality relationships with your team.  And quality of relationships is a direct result of quantity of time spent with your team, quality of that time spent, and how you show up.  Build relationships and you build your information database and enhance your leadership capacity.

Don't be afraid to follow others including your own direct reports.  Hopefully you've hired them for their particular skills, expertise, and intelligence.  If you have the courage to acknowledge their expertise and capabilities - and admit that in some circumstances their skill exceeds your own - you may learn much and gain more by becoming a follower.  Facilitate their growth, leverage their capacity, and you could quite well accelerate achievement of your goals.

Look to and analyze the leadership strengths of your icons and role models.  Maybe these are people that you have actually worked with or been led by.  Maybe they are historical figures.  Regardless, take the time to assess the characteristics and qualities you admire about them.  Critically evaluate what has allowed them to be successful (by your definition).  Learn from these role models, adapt their tactics to your circumstances, and put this learning to use.

Your role models and icons do have much to teach you.  So too do your detractors, nemeses and arch-enemies.  Think of those who constantly confound you.  Think of those who have challenged you by their leadership of you.  Thank them for the opportunity to have worked with them - maybe under your breath, but thank them nevertheless.  I expect that if you are conscious of and open to the learning that has gone on that they have helped you identify and reinforce your key leadership values, made you think about how you wanted to show up differently as a leader, and confirmed things you would never do as a leader.

Network, network, network.  In the context of my presentation to EHL, I commended them on establishing their own network and connecting with a variety of others in the healthcare sector.  Connect with others in your organization and in your sector on a regular basis.  You never know when these relationships - or these new team members - might be critical to future opportunities.  Beyond that I also challenged my budding healthcare colleagues to reach out beyond their immediate circle and industry.  Going beyond "the norm" is going to broaden your horizons, open up your eyes to other possibilities that you might not otherwise have dreamed of.

Get a mentor and be a mentor!  I say both because I believe that every one of us has something to offer as a mentor and not just as a mentee.  We all have unique experiences and insights that, if shared, could benefit others.  On the other side of the equation, I have always found being a mentor a great challenge to what I think I know and how I can convey my knowledge and experience in a way that has impact.  The questions from a mentee can challenge me and help me clarify my own understanding on a subject.  Regardless of which side of the relationship you find yourself on take the mentorship opportunity seriously! Your partner deserves your commitment.

Write, write and write.  And in this case write for others, contribute through blog posts, work with on-line forums, maybe even contribute an article to a local paper or journal.  It can feel a bit intimidating but the opportunity to get your thoughts out on paper, to potentially receive some feedback, and the ability to engage with others - sometimes on a worldwide basis - can be quite eye-opening and revealing.  I have gained much from my own blog experience, growing my network of colleagues, hearing reinforcing and alternate perspectives.  All of it has helped me to grow as a leader.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't get up on my own personal soapbox and suggest that as a leader you should engage an Executive Coach on your leadership journey.  Stealing a phrase from a coach colleague of mine, "Your mind is a dangerous neighborhood to go into alone."  As a leader don't underestimate the value of an external, objective and committed resource that can challenge your assumptions and self-limiting beliefs to get you to your leadership destination.  More importantly recognize that engaging a coach is not a demonstration of weakness - world class athletes don't get to the podium without the benefit of a coach or multiple coaches.  They, like you, are looking to take their performance to the next level.  If you are passionate about your leadership craft you'll do whatever it takes to succeed - including engaging an executive coach.

It's up to you to write your personal leadership story.  Just remember that it takes more than one author with a great story to produce a best seller.  It takes an editor, a publisher, and various contributors to make the story come together and find its audience.  Who are going to be your contributors?  Who is going to help you write your leadership story?

It takes a team to craft a leader.  Who's on your team?
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.