^{Authentic Leadership}

Going the “extra mile” as a leader to support your team can many times mean simply being a good person, listening to what they need, and showing your support for your team. It doesn’t make leadership easy, but leadership doesn’t have to be complex.

Here are a few examples:

• Story telling: share the firm’s past or your own stories to help make a better future. Not dwelling, but learning from past experience, accelerating learning for others. Look how effective a story is to truly illustrate a point - stories create and grow culture.

• Give them some feedback about something no one else had the guts to share, but they need to hear it. This requires genuine trust and care to deliver it AND they have it received in a positive and impactful way.

• Checking-in to see if they need something, and really caring if they need help.

• Not redirecting endlessly, but actually helping connect them to resources and those who can help.

• Teaching to have them help themselves is great, but if they aren’t able to help themselves, sometimes it backfires. Take time to coach and teach them when it’s that time.

• If not a critical directive and the situation allows for some nuance, but they’re lost- have them to speak to a peer or an additional leader that excels in that area. Or give them two options that could work, but have them make and own the decision.

• Removing roadblocks that are preventing success, or frustrating for job satisfaction and not business critical.

• Be approachable and open to conversation. If you want your team to update you, share with you, be vulnerable with where they need help, you better make it comfortable for them to reach out.

• Have a coffee or meal…without them asking. And if remote, schedule an informal catch-up and not mention business at all. If you’re shaking from even the idea of not having an agenda, the agenda is to connect outside of business and have a relaxed and open environment. Put yourself out there to encourage them to do the same.

• Buy a team member a new jacket when they need one (one of the most meaningful gestures I have seen someone do for someone else), or whatever simple gesture that goes a long way and shows you actually care about them as a human.

Support, Care, Guide, Coach, Direct, Empower, but not isolating, leaving behind, or degrading. Sounds simple, but often times it’s not easy. In an effort to teach someone to fish, or to mature and learn, leaders often miss opportunities to develop their teams and leave them feeling lost for answers with no clear resource to help. Be the kind of leader that teaches someone to fish, but sticks around or is available if they lose their way and need leadership.

#leadership #development #peoplefirst #lto #leveragetalentops