I had the great opportunity to teach a session on Leadership, Clarity and Accountability at the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association last week. It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to share and challenge a group of leaders to take their next step in their leadership journey to become even more impactful in their influence.
We started our time together with this amazing statement that should be at the top of our task list everyday!!
Leadership – The work of creating and maintaining an environment in which people accomplish goals efficiently and effectively.
I think we often forget that our jobs as owners, leaders and managers is to create and maintain environments where our people can crush it. Our job is to make them rock stars. So ask yourself, “What results are we getting?” Are the results, or lack of results, caused by a challenging environment? The good book tells us that we reap what we sow! Are we expecting 5 Star Google reviews in a 1 Star Google review process? Are we expecting a 25% to 30% margin in a 10% margin process? Are we expecting amazing work and results from our team members when they don’t have clear direction? When we dictate instead of empower? When they do not know the WHY of their job or what a WIN looks like if I crush it today.
Sorry to remind you, but these lack of results and frustrations may on us as leaders and be the need for ” creating and maintaining an environment in which people accomplish goals efficiently and effectively.“
I’ll share our first 3 areas of our leadership class from last week. I’ll try to share the other 12 in another posts.
- Make Others Feel Safe to Speak-Up
Many times, leaders intimidate their colleagues with their title and power when they walk into a room. Successful leaders deflect attention away from themselves and encourage others to voice their opinions. They are experts at making others feel safe to speak-up and confidently share their perspectives and points of view. They use their executive presence to create an approachable environment.
- Make Decisions
Successful leaders are expert decision makers. They either facilitate the dialogue to empower their colleagues to reach a strategic conclusion or they do it themselves. They focus on “making things happen” at all times – decision making activities that sustain progress. Successful leaders have mastered the art of politicking and thus don’t waste their time on issues that disrupt momentum. They know how to make 30 decisions in 30 minutes.
- Communicate Expectations
Successful leaders are great communicators, and this is especially true when it comes to “performance expectations.” In doing so, they remind their colleagues of the organization’s core values and mission statement – ensuring that their vision is properly translated, and actionable objectives are properly executed.
We can do this!! In this current world where there are tons of challenges and fear, it is you and your leadership that can help the company, your team and even your customer experiences rise above and even thrive!!
Remember: Leadership – The work of creating and maintaining an environment in which people accomplish goals efficiently and effectively.