This is a very good question one that should be reflected on daily. As leaders we know we are responsible to motivate our teams ensure that sales goals are met and daily operations are executed smoothly as per company guidelines.
While this is true most leaders only focus on these responsibilities and forget about others that are far more critical to leading and influencing the daily culture of any company they have the pleasure to lead in.
Have you ever left work for the day and felt frustrated worn down and maybe not valued for what and how you lead?
If you are thinking that’s not me then think again. Ask your self when was the last time you called someone to complain about someone or something that was said to you in your work day? I bet we can all recall one of these moments and nine times out of ten we called another colleague to vent about it.
Not only does the way you lead your team impact the way people feel about how they work but how you influence and lead yourself in challenging moments will really separate you from the good to the GREAT leaders of our time.
Every time you worry more about how you feel and what you look like versus how you will fix it and how your people feel you are demonstrating a lack of responsibility as a leader.
It’s easy to fall into this trap and listen to others however the best leaders think about every interaction with everyone they interact with and make it intentional.
Now I am not saying it’s easy but the best leaders are ones that can receive feedback openly and instead of justifying themselves consider there is a truth in every moment and take responsibility for that. They see it as a gift from people that may see things or feel things that they may not. They don’t feel judged because they are secure in who they are and what they do. These leaders are the ones that get ahead and move up in organizations by demonstrating being responsible for their own behaviour. This is recognized as a highly emotionally intelligent egoless leader that cares more about the company than their own reputation and therefore builds a positive reputation as an outcome of this behavior.
To build team work and moral each person on the team must ensure they are being responsible for every thing that is said that could impact the team, and by this I mean your peer team, upper management and anyone you come into contact with that could leave feeling worse than before they had engaged in a conversation with you.
To become a responsible leader there’s a few things you can do:
- Be a positive force not a Debbie downer.
- For the next 7 days write down at the end of your day what makes you feel frustrated stressed and evaluate at the end of the week why and what the common thread is. Do you focus on you? Versus others ? Is it a person that you work with?
- If you need to vent and talk it out ask for feedback and perspective to help you change how you feel not for validation that’s you are right.
- When others complain don’t listen, be empathetic but consider that you are facilitating and demonstrating a lack of responsibility in your own leadership if you become the venting dump.
- Care more about others than yourself.
- Build trust share your feelings and thoughts with the right person be honest and have managerial courage give them the opportunity to be a responsible leader and fix it.
- Think about what you say and to who you may influence others think about this and be the leader everyone wants to work with and leaves motivated and energized.
- No matter how hard feedback can be It’s a gift don’t take it personal.
- Tell people how they make you feel by using this statement “When you do ….. it makes me feel like this….”
- Be responsible and with everyone you come into contact with be kind about others.
- Don’t paint a picture for others through your own frustrations.
And if you have practiced all of this and nothing seems to working then it may be time for you to call it quits! Look back and ask yourself was I acting in a respnsible manner for everyone involved? How am I contributing to the company culture? And If I could rewind time what could I do differently? If you can’t do this then you will never grow beyond where you are today. The best leaders create culture by living it.
Take responsibility for the relationships you build and with who. Be responsible for the culture and people you influence.
Positive energy is contagious and so is being an honest responsible leader.