Only Put Great Leaders in Leadership Positions. Period.
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Here is a maxim I think every company should adopt: Don’t put people in leadership positions if they aren’t great leaders. Period.
According to last year’s Global Leadership Forecast, only 14% of CEOs have the leadership ability to execute their strategies.
Just because somebody is a strong individual contributor or otherwise great at their job does not necessarily mean they will be a successful leader of people.
This is so important because most employees experience a company and its culture through their direct manager.
It's critical that leaders are exceptional because the truth is that great employees will not suffer shitty leaders. Most people have either left a job or know someone who has left a job because of a horrible, mean, or incompetent boss.
Continuous improvement
It’s also important to remember that you don't have to start perfect to be a great leader.
Great leaders have high emotional intelligence, soft skills, and the ability to influence others. They communicate well and have the humility to learn new skills.
Also, they don’t have to already know everything. A benchmark of great leadership is the willingness to always seek and address areas of opportunities to improve.
Continuous learning and creating an overall culture of improving is essential. As a leader, you need to take ownership of that. It helps the team, and it helps you.
According to a study from the American Psychological Association, of U.S. workers surveyed who had taken a professional class or training, 65% said their learning expanded their professional network and 47% said it helped them advance within their current company.
Organizations should never put somebody into a leadership position and let them flounder or fail. They need to be set up for success by investing in their skills and abilities. And if you are a leader, it’s on you. Don’t wait for it, invest in yourself.
Bursting your bubble
Real talk: If you are like most leaders then you think you’re pretty good at most things. Also, if you are like most leaders, you’re not as good as you think at many of those things.
Which is not a direct criticism, it’s more like data-backed science. When you read articles like this one from Harvard Business Review about coaching, and this one from Business Insider about self awareness in leaders, you start to notice a pattern.
If there are skills and topics related to leadership that you have not had a lot of formal training in, then chances are you have a lot of room to improve in your mastery of those skills (like navigating conflict or coaching, for example). There are endless books, articles, classes & workshops, podcasts, videos, and resources like the #shiftyestribe out there for you, so no excuses.
If you spent 15-30 minutes a day in books, blogs, articles, taking a class, for just one week learning how to navigate conflict, you could see remarkable improvement by even the end of the week.
Obviously, don’t stop there because it’s one thing to be exposed to the theory of something and another to put it into practice. The truth is organizations and individual leaders need to be constantly sharpening their skills and abilities which includes a great deal of continuous learning, applying, and gaining feedback. Rinse and repeat.
You’re not born knowing everything but if you view learning as critical to the growth of your team and yourself, then nothing is beyond your grasp. The benefits to leaders, their teams, and organizations are paramount to everyone’s success.
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This article was created by keynote speaker Galen Emanuele for the #shiftyestribe. Free leadership and team culture content centered on a new focus every month. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Shift Yes Tribe at http://bit.ly/JointheSYT