9 Simple Reminders That Will Make You a Better Leader By Gordon Tredgold
Leadership can be hard, don’t make it harder for yourself.
Whenever I start to work with a new company to help it improve its leadership, the first thing I like to do is study the leaders in action and get feedback on how they are perceived by their teams.
Leadership can be difficult, but I am always amazed by the number of people who make it harder than it needs to be by forgetting some simple basics.
Here are nine things to remember about leadership that will stop you from making it more difficult for yourself than it needs to be, and help you become a better leader.
1. As you don’t do much of the actual work, focus on making life easier for your teams, rather than harder.
A leader’s role is to increase both the effectiveness and the efficiency of the company teams to drive improvements. But adding unnecessary bureaucracy, holding long, boring meetings–especially those that could be replaced by an information email–or requesting reams and reams of reports that no one is going to read doesn’t fall into this category.
One of my former bosses used to insist on having afternoon meetings that started at 2 p.m. and would often run until well beyond 8. These were just talking shops, often with him doing much of the talking. There was very little direction setting, decision making, or support that was forthcoming. Even worse, he forbade the use of laptops, as he wanted everyone to be fully present, which meant that many had to work long into the evening to catch up on work that had been missed and emails received.
2. Your team of experts probably knows more about their job than you, so stop telling them how to do it.
As the leader, you’re not expected to be an expert on everything. In fact, you’re expected to be an expert on leadership and getting the best out of your teams. One of the best ways to do that is to tell your teams what you want and what outcomes you are looking for, and then to
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