| How does your team see
you as a leader?
 If
you’re a direct seller leading a team, or a
solopreneur who’s guiding your clients to successful
transformation as well as working with a few virtual
or in-person assistants /employees, you have
probably asked yourself: “What are the qualities
of an effective leader, and do I have them?”
These are great questions, and you’ll find
many, many resources to help you answer them.
Paradoxically, you may turn out to be a
BETTER leader if you flip that idea upside down and
ask yourself “What do my team members most
want from their leader?”
“The academic
study of leadership has failed, and the reason is
that it focuses on the leader, when the appropriate
focus is on the followers,” suggests
research psychologist Robert Hogan, who profiles
executives for Fortune 500 companies. When we flip
the examination of leadership on its head and look
at what followers will follow, we get a better idea
of what quality we’re talking about.
“What is it the
followers are looking for?” he asks.
“The focus should be on the work force
or the team, and what they perceive. Because if
they don’t perceive the right thing in a leader,
you’re through.”
…
According to Hogan’s research, followers want
four things: integrity, confidence, decision-making
and clarity. But just as important is what followers
don’t want: irritability, moodiness, untrustworthiness,
indecisiveness, needless micro-management and excessive
authority. They perceive these things as incompetent,
and pretty soon the leveling mechanism kicks in
and there is a subtle rebellion.
Sally Jenkins, Washington Post,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/in-sports-theres-no-faking-leadership/2011/11/30/gIQAnoksGO_story_1.html,
accessed 12/3/2012.
The leveling mechanism referred to above ranges
from ignoring orders to kicking out the leader.
Whenever you feel like your team is unresponsive
to you, it’s easy to think: “They’re
just not as committed/focused/goal-oriented as I am.”
Though tempting, this idea just helps you justify
why it’s OK for you to stay right where you
are.
I invite you to consider that problems with
your team are actually an opportunity to move your
leadership to a whole new level! Here are some tips.
1. Looking at yourself analytically, are
integrity, confidence, decision-making
and clarity key qualities you have?
- If NO, how can you support yourself to further
develop them?
- If YES, then look carefully at whether you are
actually demonstrating them. Feedback from colleagues
and team members whose truthfulness you trust can
help you with this.
2. Consider the qualities that followers
do NOT want. The qualities followers don’t
want: irritability, moodiness, untrustworthiness,
indecisiveness, needless micro-management and excessive
authority. Have you been showing any of these, either
due to trying conditions in your life or perhaps your
personality?
- If YES, consider what goal you are MOST interested
in: leading a high-functioning team which requires
overcoming moodiness, irritability etc., OR giving
full rein to your feelings?
3. If you feel confident about the personality traits
you exhibit as a leader, then it’s time to look
at how you show up emotionally for your team.
What role: trainer, problem-solver, mother, enabler,
go-get-em, encourager– do you most often embody?
- If you said YES to any of these roles, coaching
your team is what will move you to a whole new level
of leadership and them to a whole new level of performance.
Once you’ve trained your team, what is left
to get in their way is NOT lack of understanding
about WHAT to do. What gets in their way is their
mindset: what they feel is possible or impossible
for them; what they feel they deserve; and what
they feel is safe for them to experience.
Coaching (not encouraging, not sympathizing, and
not training) is what helps them find their OWN
motivation and figure out their best next step forward.
You cannot want something for them more than they
want it for themselves!
Call to Action
Start within by seriously considering the qualities
you have as a leader and how you can further rely
on them and bring them out for your team.
Looking to substantially upgrade your leadership
ability in 2013?
Want to jumpstart your team’s motivation
and performance?
Will that be easier for you with coaching/mentoring/support
to get this done?
If this is you, then I invite you to contact
me for a private call, one-on-one, where
you and I will discuss your goals for 2013 and how
my expert coaching and mentoring can help you get
there. I invite you to email me at success@marcystahl.com.
We’ll easily find a convenient time to get this
underway.
Now is the time to plant what you will reap
in 2013!
Here’s how my training program on coaching
helped one national leader:
 “This
training has given me a lot of encouragement! I
can now see how to set up higher quality, more difference-making
service offerings that will elicit far greater hope
and impact than ‘call more people and sell
more stuff.’
It's leagues beyond
anything I've done in the past.
I see how I can create
sustainable systems to move forward and alleviate
my God complex while actually IMPROVING the quality
of service I’m providing to my team.
Marcy excels at pulling
everything together and breaking it down. She can
put complex ideas into 1 or 2 sentences. It’s
such a relief that all of these ideas aren't swirling
all over the place in my head. I can absorb and
take action on this material….it’s do-able!"
Michelle Moore
5-Diamond Designer
Premier Designs Jewelry
© 2012 Marcy Stahl
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Marcy Stahl motivates women entrepreneurs to
move from having only a trickle of clients to an abundant
full flow of more clients, more money, and more decision-making
power. If you're ready to empower yourself AND boost
your business, if you want to share YOUR passion with
more people, schedule your free 45-minute Marcy Stahl
Success Solutions Session by clicking here: http://www.marcystahl.com/contact-marcy.html
|
It’s
that holiday time of year, when you’re likely
to be working hard in your business while trying to
figure out how to get your holiday shopping done as
well! 
The
answers are locked away inside YOU - but not for long.
