I would like to explain before I give any feedback on leadership that the advice provided in this piece is focused on what works for me. I'm not a pundit. Over the years , I have developed a playbook of ideas and structures that have helped me build successful teams.
Leadership is about the development of sensible, realistic practices and a learning mentality. I've arranged this post in order to enclose all the events and practical tips in boxes, making them easier to locate.
For over a decade, I've led teams in scaling companies. The emphasis is on quickly building Go To Market strategies and creating pipelines in this form of sector. As it grew into six European regions before its acquisition of Wipro, I was fortunate enough to work for Appirio. Since then, I have worked for both Hive Learning and Modulr as a CMO, which recently received over £ 20 m in funding.
If I'm frank, it wasn't a major success in my first leadership position. I was young, I was inexperienced, and a lot of mistakes were made. Currently, I would say I benefited more from being a bad leader than from being a good one.
The errors I made taught me a tremendous amount. I've been:
Old, inexperienced and in command of a team unexpectedly
Driven mainly by KPIs and the daily performance of my team (but in the wrong context)
Focusing on the needs and numbers of the organization, rather than the needs of my team
Do you sound like this? Young leaders are also put under tremendous pressure to provide benchmarks when developing teams on a scale. It is no wonder that the 'motivation' of their team does not factor into their attitude.
This leadership style is also characterized by black and white thought, either delivered by the team or failing. This type of style, as you would imagine, doesn't bring out the best in people.
Being numbers-driven influenced my team's success, and this was how I learned a leader's single most important role.
Helping the team perform at their best is the most important task.
1. Mentorship and learning
Successful leadership for me is motivated by a mentality of coaching and learning. Together, these two aspects make for an inspiring mix. Coaching discussions are an successful way, without being didactic, to drive individuals towards their goals. I use this model regularly:
GROWING
In particular, GROW coaching is useful. Structuring conversations is an easy model:
What The Target Is
What is the existing reality?
What kind of options do you have?
What are you going to do to achieve that?
By promoting learning, I like to lead. I started by giving my team a weekly collection of aggregate links, to give them the chance to read about what we were doing that week. This has culminated in a newsletter you can subscribe to here.
I began sending a regular motivation note this year based on discussions I had with my team, whether it was a helpful article or a podcast. This helps the community, which people also enjoy, to learn together. Everyone wants the opportunity to develop, so leaders should actively strive to encourage this.
Are you the new ruler? All four of these books look at how to create a strong vision and how to inspire others by talking. Some of my top 2020 readings are:
I have recently been asked how a subscriber finds so much helpful material. So, here 's exactly how I do it in the name of transparency:
Where to find outstanding material for leadership:
To aggregate content from over 300 + outlets, use Feedly
Using Evernote to build files and tags that can continuously store pieces of content in your folder or tags.
Every day, search Medium to save important pieces to your Evernote folder.
A certain number of books are planned to be read each year (I aim for 25 in 2020)
To help you read books easily, use Blinkist (doesn't substitute books! This is my Tier 2 reading list)
Using Mercury Reader to continuously snip Kindle posts
Combining a coaching and learning mentality makes you an outstanding listener and, by extension, a better leader.
2. Method and Structure
By having a meeting every two weeks, you can not create a high-performing team. You need to create trust in a community, instead.
Trust Building: An Exercise
Seat your entire squad, facing each other, in two groups. For one minute each, give each pair 2 minutes to discuss one thing in turn. Here is the subject:
How are you making me feel? This admittedly intimidating subject generates unbelievable trust.
Tough discussions, yes, but also constructive and meaningful. On your next day off, check it out and see the results for yourself. Building long-term trust includes a formal management approach.
When do you see them, begin by considering your activities with your team? Think of regular relationships, weekly meetings, 1-2-1s and structured team meetings. Make sure you have a system for open, daily conversations. The best way to lead well is to make sure you are confident enough by your team to be totally transparent with you. Seek input every day, and the more input you get, the more you can adjust and appreciate the needs of your team.
In a purposeful climate, knowing the team through a organized approach will result. Leadership is not only a question of tradition, but of intent. In particular, Generation Z employees aspire to work for someone who believes in mission (see here for more on that topic) and are motivated less by earnings.
Meet frequently, speak to your staff, be transparent and consider the motivation of individuals so that you can give people a deep connection. 'High Performance Behaviors' is a framework to help the team build its working practices:
