Tuesday 13 February 2018

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.


I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world  running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.


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