Three Attributes of a Great Leader
What does it take to be a great leader? There are many things obviously, but here are three that I’ve learned will set you apart.
be SEEN
I have a saying in life: ‘Everything you need to know about leadership can be learned from Band of Brothers’. If you’ve seen the mini-series (set during WWII) then you know about Lieutenant Dike, who was 2nd in command over Easy Company during The Battle of The Bulge.
For those who haven’t seen it, all we really know about Dike is that he’s rarely around. He always seems to find excuses to leave the men on the front line to ’make a call’ or ‘check in with battalion’. The troops are left without their leader. Here’s a line from Episode 6 that sums it up:
“There were long stretches where we didn’t know where Lt. Dike was. He’d disappear, go off on his walks for hours at a time. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he was just one of the guys… but Lt. Dike was supposed to be leading the company.” - Sgt. Lipton
There’s nothing more discouraging than an ‘absentee manager’. It encourages resentment, gossip and distrust. Be present. Make sure your people see you. Make sure they know you’re there. Let them see how hard you work, and let them see that it’s on their behalf. Being seen builds trust and creates advocacy.
be APPROACHABLE
Sometimes people think it’s easy to have an ‘open door policy’ when you don’t actually have a door. But your body language, facial expressions and overall attitude can have a much greater impact on whether people feel you are approachable.
I remember in my first year as VP Sales I was asked if I wanted an office. Care to guess what my response was?
“uhhh… YES!”
I took that office with a myriad of reasons in my head ‘justifying’ my decision:
Having all my 1:1’s in here is going to save so much time/headaches finding different conference rooms for every meeting
I often have confidential information on my screen that’s not appropriate to have out on the floor
It’ll give me some peace & quiet to get some actual work done
Etc etc.
After about a month, I realized a few things:
I was bored. I preferred the loud noise and hustle bustle of being on the floor
It created unnecessary distance between me and the staff on the front lines. People were hesitant to knock on my door and come and talk without a scheduled meeting
In general, I talked with people a lot less. Just less foot traffic I guess.
So I did the right thing (go me!) and asked to have a second desk setup on the floor where I’d spend most of my time. The office was repurposed for sales meetings and 1:1’s.
I felt proud of myself, like I’d accomplished some big task, people would be grateful for it and the problems listed above would be solved.
Rookie error.
About two months later I received some feedback that people felt I wasn’t approachable…. WHAT! But I made this big change! I did this big gesture so that people would see that I’m free and available! How could this be!
I realized that my although I was physically at my desk on the floor almost all the time. My posture was anything but approachable: I wore headphones, looked busy and distracted and in general just had a ‘I’m busy’ demeanor about myself. Being approachable was more about how I greeted people and engaged with those in my area, much more than just sitting there.
So, put an extra chair at your desk, ask your team about their weekends, be encouraging, be genuine and sincere. Be approachable.
be YOU
Finally, the third attribute of a great leader is be you.
Especially when stepping into management for the first time, this is a tough one. You’re tempted to emulate the great leaders and mentors that have gone before you. You look around at the other successful team leaders in your area and you think to yourself: “well, if I just lead like that, I’ll be successful too!”
Talking from experience, that just doesn’t work. I’m sure if you’ve worked for / with managers like this, they look like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole right? It’s like they read a book on management and then took some principals from that to shift and change into this pseudo version of themselves.
I spent enough time struggling with this, only to realize that the best style of leadership I can live out is when I’m just being me.
No one else is better at your job than you are, otherwise they would be sitting in your chair. This means that your job is to make you the best YOU that you can be. Don’t play the imitation game, or be a copycat and lead like someone else. Play to your strengths and lead out of who you are, not what you know. Just be you.
Be SEEN
Be APPROACHABLE
Be YOU
Thanks for reading,
MT