Leadership, Not "Leavership" …
It’s always
interesting when I go to a client’s offices and watch the interaction of the
leadership team with others. With some,
they’re clearly very hands on and supportive.
Others can to be more “fire and forget” types.
By “fire and forget” I mean that they issue an instruction
and then leave it to others without taking the time to check if their
instructions have been understood and that there aren't any problems along the
way. Some people work well under this
type of arrangement. They’re happy to
receive an instruction, work out what needs doing, ask for any clarification
needed and then get on with it.
Others may need time to think, assess any likely problems
and then get back to the leader. By this
time, the latter may already be engaged in other activities and have “no time”
(famous last words…). The leader may
also need to “check in” from time to time to make sure that all is “on course,
on time”, otherwise they may get a nasty surprise at the end when that deadline's due.
As leaders, we tend to forget two important things when it
comes to our people. The first is that we
are accountable for them and for their
actions as well as to them, especially if that includes delegating projects or parts of projects
delegated by our leaders. The other is
that, although some may work well without being supervised (if at all), the
nature of the project or the deadline may require us to follow up from time to
time to make sure there won’t be any nasty surprises. Some leaders do this through weekly (or even
daily) team briefings. Others take a
more informal approach and stroll up to the person’s desk and have what seems
like a relaxed “chat”.
I’ve found that different styles suit different people (both
leaders and their direct reports). Personally,
I like to know on a regular basis that all is in order and whether anyone needs
help.
Labels: Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 14:50
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