Monday was filled with a myriad of activities, discussion, problems and issue surrounding the issue of leadership. Begining at work, right till the end of the day, I was surrounded by the issue of leadership. I sometimes ask myself, “what makes a good leader?”. Examining myself over the years, I’ve been known by my peers as being “anal” and “strict” and sometimes even a tyrant! I have no defense. It’s true I guess, but the only reason behind the way I lead is because I want to ensure that things get done properly.
I guess a synonym for my “strictness” would be discipline. Discipline is important in leadership. Discipline creates and forms a process, it sets expectations, it defines the rules, it basically conforms a team mate. And it’s important to conform a team mate. Too often times people prefer playing the good guy, Mr I’m always so friendly, that they lack to enforce certain discipline in the group. No don’t get me wrong, discipline isn’t regimental, militaristic or sadism. Having discipline helps get the team moving, it creates a momentum which helps pushes the dynamics of the team. Yet sadly, not many leaders practice this.
Why is this so? Well because it’s hard to discipline someone. It takes alot of effort and puts you in “bad books” with the other person. It takes alot of time and energy to instill discipline in someone. It’s way more easier to just play mr. nice guy and point fingers when things go ugly. That is just lousy leadership, you just don’t earn respect and commitment from the team. In the short run you might gain the friendship and respect of your team mate, but in the long run, you lose out. You’re failing to sustain the team.
Secondly is support. No support here doesn’t mean just providing “what you need”. Support transcends beyond just providing the right tools just in order to get the job done. Support is understanding the other person’s view point. Empathy and genuine concern comes into play here. Too often I notice that most leaders just offer “solutions” to any problems that their team mates have, without really understanding the root cause. Again why is this so? The answer is simple : effort and time is involved. Too often not many leaders have the time to listen to their team mates express their concern. Most concerns are looked upon as “whinning” and “complaining” and they expect their team mates to just stop complaining and just do the work! If you need help, fine I’ll get you help. Baby cries, Baby gets milk approach. If only leaders could really learn to empathize, and to really just sit down and spend time just listening without forming any solutions or prejudgements in their head, they’d not only provide real support, but they’ll also build stronger bond and trust among their team mates. Respect goes up, commitment goes up because the member knows that he/she has a good team lead to rely on.
Being a team lead/leader is more than just having additional responsibilities and writing reports. It’s about making more effort to understand and train or groom your team members, and these things can only come through genuine commitment and concern toward the team members….
