Your People Are Watching You

Throughout my corporate career, I was always in a leadership position with my team depending on me to do the right thing to help them learn and grow to perform at their best level. Why? Well, simple really, because the single most important factor that will determine the success of your company is the quality of the team you assemble, develop and use. Or, in other words, lead.

Leaders succeed by getting the right results on a timely basis. You achieve those results from the work performed by your team – not you alone. If you accept that, then how you help your team find, develop and properly use their full capabilities to bring out their individual and collective greatness is a leader’s most important task.

As such, a leader can only be as good as the performance of their team. And, the team will only be as good as the limitations the leader places on their own performance. In other words, your team will mimic – repeat – your best work habits and your worst work habits.

Related: 4 Steps to Get More of The Right Things Done

So, the question to ask yourself is, “Are you setting the best leadership and example you can for your team?”

Are you:

Believable and trustworthy ; can you be depended upon to be truthful?

Credible and demonstrate consistent examples of integrity ; competence and sound judgment; a good listener; likable and persuasive? Do you communicate regularly with your team keeping them in the loop?

Accountable and demonstrate how you take responsibility for what you do? Do you own your mistakes taking responsibility for your own actions and being able to explain them?

Approachable and easy to meet with and talk to ; genuine, open-minded, amenable and accessible? Can you laugh at yourself and allow others to share in the moment?

Your team will feed off of your behaviors and actions . You can transform your work environment by your actions and demeanor. Don’t underestimate just how powerful of a leadership tool this.