As I think back on those individuals who were my bosses, a clear distinction comes to my mind about them. Improvements
There were two types: those that encouraged me, educated me, energized me, and engaged me. And those that supervised me without doing any one of those things. What they did do I still haven’t figured out.
To be a leader today requires the ability to infuse those that they lead with massive daily injections of those four parts of Vitamin E. Those that fail to do that aren’t leaders of people; they merely allow the people underneath them to drift…to destinations to be determined.
I heard a story sometime back about a man who was on his deathbed, being interviewed. The dying man was asked what single thing people did that made a difference in his life. After a moment he said “Encouragement. They encouraged me.”
And so, as a leader, we have a need, a requirement, to encourage those that we lead, those that surround us, those we have influence on. For many, a parent, a relative, a teacher or someone else in our lives gave us something that we needed at a time when we needed it, to make us better. For me, one of those individuals was a woman in college that I respected. In passing one day she said, “You write well.” I never forgot her words and I never forgot her.
She might have never said those words; she didn’t have to, but it made a significant difference in my life simply because she thought enough of me to speak them out loud to me.
We also have a need to educate those that we lead. Not everyone wants to learn. Many people do not want to learn because that means they will have to and they will change as a result of learning something new and perhaps different. And most everyone is against change, because that means we must not be perfect. That something is wrong with us.
Education is all about becoming better. As leaders, we have to become better simply what we do everyday demands it. Clients, vendors, employees, and other stakeholders expect more. Because they do, we have to learn more in order to provide more. And so it is for those that we lead. We expect more and they have to learn more. Kicking and screaming, as we become better, we become better not just for others but for ourselves. Marie Curie said “You cannot hope to build a better world without improving individuals.” The educator is the teacher, and that is a primary responsibility. Those that don’t teach or don’t care to teach are simply doing a disservice to those that they lead.
Being a source of energy for those that we lead is essential. If there is no passion, no commitment, no desire, it is impossible to be an energy source. I remember Paul Miller, the president of Hills Bros. Coffee, walking fast, talking fast, animated in his gestures, intently focused on whomever he was speaking with. He was thinking so fast that he was light years ahead of people. He was one of those people that you always wanted to do right by; his energy was contagious. He laughed a lot. Paul was one of those people who, despite hard times and very tough times, energized those around him. Looking back, I believe Paul knew that he had to talk the talk, and walk the walk, even when he didn’t feel like it. He had to do it for those he led and he was sincere in his effort.
Engaging people means tapping into their strengths, their talents, their abilities and their interests. That doesn’t mean that people can stop doing everything they don’t like to do. It does mean that people have to understand the connection between what they are doing and the greater good, even if that greater good means just getting a paycheck every week. Once they make that connection between action and reward, educating and engaging about the next level of engagement becomes easier. But the leader has to take the action to explain not just “what” but “why.”
Engaging is tied to effort. A leader makes the effort, for his or herself, and for those that the lead. Every day the leader is under the microscope by followers, waiting to see if and how they stumble, what mistakes they make, and how they deal with failure, disappointment and setback. Leaders worth following pick themselves up and try again, in a different way. That effort sets an example. The best leaders model behavior and actions by setting examples for others to emulate.
John Quincy Adams said nearly 200 years ago that “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” What are your actions saying about you?
