Knowing how to effectively project yourself as a leader and to understand the impact you have on others will define your success as a leader;
In this article, I’m going to share some insights about projection as related to leadership and a simple three step ABC formula you can use to improve your results as a leader.
Employees look to leaders to give them confidence that their organisation is moving in the right direction and that, as employees, that they are part of an important cause. Hence, leaders need to project certainty and stability and articulate a compelling vision for the organisation that they lead.
Leaders also understand the fundamental difference between “Intention” and “Impact” in communications and how to structure their behaviour and communication style accordingly to create an engaged, inspired and effective team. Maya Angelou summed it up nicely when she said, “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” It’s less about what you say, rather it’s how you say it.
An example of structuring your communication style might be if you needed to postpone an employee review meeting. While many managers might say, “I’m just too busy to do your review today, we’ll have to move it to next week.” Think about the impact of the statement on the employee and the unspoken message it sends (you’re not as important as me) compared to this one, “I really want to make sure that we give your review the proper amount of time it deserves, is it ok if we move it to next week?”
Successful leaders also understand that their team will always be a reflection of themselves. If as the leader, they are not highly organised, the team will not be either. If the leader does not focus on growing their knowledge and on-going personal development, then it is almost certain that their team will not either. So successful leaders need to be congruent and display the behaviours that they want to see exhibited by their team members. Bottom line, when the leader stops growing, the team and the organisation stops growing as well.
So, I promised you a simple three step ABC formula for leadership, here it is:
Articulate – a vision that enrols and inspires the people around you
Be – a role model for those around you and invest in reaching your potential
Communicate – frame your communications in the values of who you are communicating with.
So what does this mean for business leaders today?
Leadership is not a title, it is about having the attitude of taking responsibility backed up by the willingness to take action. Leaders are prepared to put in the effort and sacrifice short term results to reap dividends in the longer term. Great leaders make a commitment to achieving excellence in all areas of their life and invest time and money on a regular basis into becoming the best they can be. It is about being committed to take yourself and those around you to the next level.
How does Rapport Leadership empower leaders?
For more than 30 years, Rapport Leadership has reinvented the way leadership is taught and empowered new leaders with the confidence, self-esteem, and focus necessary to improve their results and build high performance teams. Rapport’s intensive and on-site leadership training courses are experiential leadership classes designed to allow people to experience strong leadership, develop their inner leader and understand and practice their own unique leadership style giving them the resources, experience and confidence to go to the next level.
At Rapport we know that when we improve the person, the performance improves. When we improve the performance, the family improves, the business improves and the community improves.
To request a complimentary leadership consultation or a leadership analysis of your organisation, contact Rapport on 1800 330 027 or visit our website today.
