Leaders create toxic cultures when they continually leverage their position for personal gain.
The opposite is also true.
Leaders that use their position to bless and empower others create a healthy culture by the brush of their example.
Leaders that use their position to bless and empower create a healthy culture by the brush of their example. Click To TweetThis may sound like an endorsement for “servant leadership” but it’s not. There is no such thing as servant leadership. Either you are a servant or no leader at all.
Here are four ways to better serve the people you lead.
Listening: There’s no doubt, good leaders have well-developed skills in speaking and writing. They inspire others through their powerful preaching and motivational messages. But the best leaders are good listeners as well as great communicators. Listening well is one of the most empowering things you can do for the people you lead.
Great leaders listen to understand, not to respond. They listen empathically, that is, from the other person’s perspective. They accurately reflect back the meaning of what is being said which helps the person feel understood and validated. Most people don’t need to get their way, but they do need to be understood. We all do.
The best communicators are as good at listening as they are at speaking and writing. Listening well to others is one of the most empowering things you can do for your staff. Click To TweetEncouraging: When it comes to believing in themselves, most people are agnostic. Think of it, if you want to make someone blush, pay them a compliment. If you really want to make them squirm, attach a specific example of their greatness and watch them wallow in the warmth of your words.
Great leaders catch their people doing the right thing and affirm them for it. This simple act of acknowledging the good not only re-enforces the behaviour, but it also inspires the one that was encouraged to do the same for others.
When leaders consistently affirm the good work of their people, they provide a powerful example that will animate the culture of the organization.
Coaching: The greatest privilege of a leader is to coach his or her people to greatness. A coaching leader is one that communicates the dignity, worth and potential of people so clearly that they see it in themselves and act on it.
Coaching is about raising your people’s awareness of their powerful potential to make a difference and a sense of responsibility to live it out and make an impact. A coach consistently reminds people, “The talents you have are God’s gift to you, and what you do with them is your gift to Him.” Great leaders are more about coaching toward greatness than managing behaviour.
Coaching is about raising your people's awareness of their powerful potential to make a difference and a sense of responsibility to live it out and make an impact. Click To TweetHealing: Many people carry heavy emotional burdens under the thin veneer of a half-hearted smile. Even those who appear confident and self-reliant can be struggling with one issue or another.
Some are suffering from a broken heart because of the dysfunction at home. Others are close to burnout. Some find it hard just getting out of bed in the morning. COVID restrictions have not helped. Those struggling before March 2020 could be in a very dark place right now.
It’s not our right as leaders to pry open emotional doors that are clearly marked, “do not open.” But if we focus on building trust every day, the people we lead will eventually give us unspoken permission (or spoken permission!) to enter into their personal story and offer accompaniment.
Great leaders are prepared to go there when the opportunity arises. They listen, they empathize, they offer support and check-in at a heart level. The mere fact that you make time in your day to be present communicates a profoundly healing message to their heart, “You matter, your heart matters.”
Your people will forget most of what you say but they won’t forget how you made them feel in your presence.
Our most valuable resource is not the buildings we own or the technology we operate or even our financial health. Our greatest resource is emotional capital – healthy, rich and collaborative relationships. The best leaders make it a daily priority to listen, encourage, coach and heal their people.
Our greatest resource is emotional capital – healthy, rich and collaborative relationships. The best leaders make it a daily priority to listen, encourage, coach and heal. Click To Tweet