Leadership... I've been trying to fight you out my whole life, and it's either the middle child in me, the empath, or just plain resistance. But stepping into my innate leadership skills has been a lifelong process to finally come to a place where I can admit that I have what it takes. I've realized that it has nothing to do with my personality, it's even more than that. Instead, it has everything to do with my mindset toward work.
This is why I now believe that everyone can be a leader. We have to fan that flame in our lives. Tune in if you find yourself consistently elevated into roles with my responsibility and respect than you ever bargained for. Here's how I've learned and facilitated growth through those moments of increased responsibility.
Recognize your communication style
This one is huge. If you don't own how you communicate, you won't be able to accurately and authentically set boundaries with those you work alongside. It's not about saying, "this is who I am, and I'm not changing it," instead, it's about being self-aware of the communication environments you naturally excel in and the ones you're continually working to improve upon. That level of vulnerability in a leader motivates a team to own their strengths, show their flaws, and watch how the respect and motivation from your team grow.
Setting these expectations upfront will allow your team to know how they should best allocate their focus based on the environment you've established. Clear is kind, in the words of Brene Brown, and it takes some vulnerability to showcase your team's diversity in a clear light. But, it's crucial to maintain trust and motivation with your team.
Find or build a team you TRUST.
I'm sure you're beginning to notice a common thread here, trust. To me, trust is teamwork. It's everything to the leader, and it's everything to every teammate. Knowing who you can lean on, spur on, and cheer on as you focus on your primary responsibilities is true "flow" at work. A concept most people spend serious $$$ to discover in their organizations. Flow is all about hitting that moment of inspired and motivated work. It's what I've worked to design my career around, and every step I take along its journey has that at the forefront.
Building trust with your team happens in the little moments, like those weekly touch-base calls, those morning messages, and emails with feedback. It's in the little things that, as a leader, you express trust when you're confident in it, and you're intentional about building and uncovering it when there are some doubts. As a leader, you're the culture creator, and you must make one where trust guides your team's decision-making. Building collective trust takes time and collaborative communication. That's where every person on your team is a leader as much as you are.
Commit to a recurring time for inspiration and accountability
This one is huge; consistent communication with your team has to be a top priority. If you are a "set it and forget it" kind of leader, this blog might not pertain to you, and I'd also urge you to rethink your why behind choosing the role you're in because communication is everything as a leader. I've been in situations where I had to lead a team, and internal communication wasn't a priority of this organization. I saw how it affected a team only communicating once a week as a team and committed to having weekly or biweekly touchpoints with my team as I move forward in my career from it.
These times are not only beneficial to getting to know your team and continuing trust-building. It's also important to share what's inspiring you, what you want most out of your involvement in a project, and sharing the needed inspiration that everyone deserves to realign to their goals.
Know where to find and when to give validation
As a words-of-affirmation girl myself, I'm notorious for over-valuing feedback. It means open communication and, most of all, trust, two things that are ultimately required for effective leadership. But, I've noticed that no two communication environments are the same and that not everyone has the exact expectations for workplace feedback from their leaders.
So the key here is having a conversation as part of initial rapport building with your team, asking them how they receive feedback best, how often they expect to receive it, and how they've received feedback that came off the wrong way. Don't be afraid to ask hard questions to get to the bottom of how people on your team communicate best. Having these vulnerable conversations as a leader (whether in the title or mindset), you'll be able to set a ripple of change within your organization, all based on understanding. How powerful.
In conclusion, whether you're looking to refine, spark, or shift your perspectives and practices surrounding leadership. I hope you found a golden piece of advice from my thoughts. And cheers to leading in your unique self!
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