There's No Such Thing As Weak Leadership

Have you ever heard the comment..."oh, he's a weak leader." Maybe you've said it yourself. Candidly, I have too. Ouch.

Expectations
We all talk about...or should talk about...setting proper expectations with our leadership teams. 

What should they focus on? 
Where should they put their development time? 
How will their success be measured? 
What can they expect from us as their senior leaders?

Friends, I've heard these questions asked for years, literally. Yet somehow they keep coming up again and again. How is that possible? In some instances I've been exposed to sophisticated onboarding and leader pathway processes. In others, I hear the tired excuses of leaders who want to do well, but just don't know how to be effective. 

Accountability
I'm convinced the secret to weeding out the failing leaders is simply to hold them accountable. Be firm and fair. But, they must be held accountable. 

Here's the tricky part...most of these leaders believe they are doing a good job. They have convinced themselves they are above the fray and untouchable. Imagine their shock when they are provided coaching that does not continue to inflate their already overinflated egos?

Look out!

How About You
What is to be done when a leader is struggling? Do we...coach them....have an off-the-record pep talk with them...fire them...hmmm?

How about we step up and handle it directly? It's harder this way, but you can do it. Oh, and it's also the "leader" part of leadership.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Trend Killer

I don’t know about you, but it feels like the pace of change is at an all time high. Combined with a hyper-competitive struggle to find and keep the best talent, it is clear that staying current as leaders is no longer a ‘nice to do.”

It truly is a “must do."

New social media tools are exploding onto the scene everyday, and they all can be used to connect with employees and candidates alike.

Let me say that again. They ALL can be used to connect with employees and candidates alike.

Just A Trend?

Have you fully embraced social media yet? If not, are you comfortable filling the role of “empty suit” in your organization?

I hate to break it to you, but simply because you’ve been so scared to look bad in front of your team because you don’t how to use these business tools (yes, business), doesn’t mean you are some sort of strong leader. What you’ve actually done is position yourself as the odd man (or woman) out.

Put simply, all of your employees and the talent you want to hire are using multiple social accounts. However, since you are now invisible you no longer matter. Oh, and saying you have a LinkedIn account with (hopefully) a picture, and a couple of job titles and dates of employment doesn’t count.

You’re invisible.

Much More Than A Trend

The solution to the seemingly bottomless pit that you continue to dig for yourself has two simple steps.

1  Stop taking pride in the fact that you don’t use contemporary tools for business. Just be quiet. You’ve all ready proven how clueless you are with respect to how all of society now interacts, and you aren’t going to kill this trend. Just. Be. Quiet.

2  Eat a gargantuan slice of humble pie and reach out to someone you trust to help you get started. (Insider tip: social media tools are so ridiculously easy to use even you will be a pro in a few hours.)

How About You

Am I fired up about this topic? Yes! But it’s really not social media that I’m focused on today. If that’s all you’re taking away from this post then either you’ve completely missed the point; or, I’ve done a poor job of explaining myself.

You and I must be contemporary leaders. We don’t have a choice. We need to push ourselves into areas where we are uncomfortable. It's time for us to be better every day. Claiming that we’re “old school” and “don’t have time for that stuff” makes us sound stupid. 

Don’t be stupid. Suck it up and lead the way instead.

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses. 

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Sometimes I need to...

be more kind.

listen longer before I answer.

focus on the positives.

worry about other's feelings ahead of my own.

be aware that my actions impact others.

lend a hand to someone in need.

mentor a new leader.

challenge a complacent leader.

go out of my way.

inspire as many people as I can.

take the blame.

be an example.

not be so hard on myself.

support those who give it their all.

hold the slackers accountable.

think bigger than I did yesterday.

remember I can not do it alone.

have some downtime.

lose.

thank my colleagues.

say hello to a stranger.

take a rest day.

be better prepared.

reach out to someone who needs help.

stop explaining why I love my music.

remember diversity is not a to do item.

be vulnerable.

push harder than is humanly possible.

...but always lead the way.

What is on your list?

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