What Leaders Need
All leaders, experienced or otherwise, have some basic needs in common. When these needs are well supported, the leaders will usually deliver success for the team and organization. When they are not supported, leadership vulnerabilities may be exposed, (not a good thing).
What Do You Need to Succeed as Leader?
So, what do leaders need on a consistent basis? In our Organizational Development practice, we typically bump into these five main needs. They are:
1. Leaders need resources - This includes time, treasure and talent. Nothing will frustrate a leader faster than firing them up with a compelling vision and then not equipping them with money, equipment and people to get their jobs done well.
They usually want to hit the finish line strong but cannot get up to speed if they are underfunded or understaffed. Pay close attention to measures, metrics and FTE head counts as they relate to workflows. Can your present-day or near-term projected output justify more hands on deck? If so, add them.
2. Leaders need to connect vision to mutual purpose - Many leaders are good promulgating a vision themselves, but depending on where they are on the organizational chart, it’s very likely they will need to link the organization’s over-arching vison to their team’s purpose.
This means they will have to translate the strategic intent into meaningful deliverables at their level. Asking them to lead something and not connecting it to the larger vision is setting them up for frustration and failure. Be 100 % certain they know the big picture and understand how to translate it into mutual purpose.
3. Leaders need operating space - Give them the vision, systems, and tools to reach stated goals and then get out of their way. Too many organizations waste time on non-value added ‘looking good accountabilities.’
This means watching out for officiousness and micro-management. Trust your team to make things happen vs worrying about how they are going to make you look. Constantly looking over the shoulder of a leader or stepping in too often to give unneeded direction will push leaders away. They may even start to question why they are there to begin with.
Frequently, when they are given the space to lead, leaders come up with ideas to reach their goals more quickly and with more creatively.
4. Leaders need freedom - Along with space to operate comes the freedom to engage in it. We are not all wired the same way, nor are we motivated by the same things. Leaders must have the freedom to lead from their unique strengths and past experiences. It is likely that those will be somewhat different from the boss’s strengths and experiences.
Give leaders freedom to make decisions and mistakes. Some leaders are so worried about not making a mistake that their best efforts never materialize. Naturally we want to minimize mistakes, but don’t focus on them. Focus on what is learned from them.
5. Leaders need feedback - Leaders who lack feedback from the person leading them will find themselves questioning whether progress is being made and whether they're valued. Good leaders crave feedback on their performance.
Set up recurring / predictable ‘office hours’ for 1:1 conversations to let them know what they are doing well and what they could do better. They need to hear it from you, and you need to know that they're on track and moving in the direction that you expect.
So, there you have it, five things that, if done consistently, will help to unlock the leadership potential on your team. How are the leaders in your organization doing?
For additional leadership content click here
Lee Hubert is a Speaker, Facilitator, Trainer and founder of iTrainManagerforSuccess affiliate of Voltage Leadership, with over 20 years of experience in human resources development in healthcare, technology, financial and energy sectors.
