The Manager 141 - Traits of leadership and more
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The Manager - Edition 141 - Traits of leadership and more
Hi,
I hope you are safe and well. It's a Bank Holiday here today in the UK, but alas - this newsletter must still go out. So, I write this at 5:45 am this morning, with a sore head from an over indulgent BBQ last night. Consistency is key - as we'll talk about in a minute. And yes, the Eagle Eyed will note that this newsletter is a little bit later than usual. My apologies for that - I needed to make a coffee :)
I hope you have a cracking week.
5 Characteristics of leadership
Bennis & Nanus (1985) looked at leadership traits and characteristics and came up with 5 they felt defined great leaders.
I like these 5 and I think they make a lot of sense for leaders and managers. After all, most leaders are also managers, and good managers are also leaders.
1. Management of attention.
I talk about this a lot. I even wrote a book about it. Energy and attention are finite resources in yourself and others, so use them wisely. Focus on what matters and ignore the rest. Direct attention to what is important. Use your own attention wisely and don’t squander other people’s on pointless projects, ego inflating activities (I see a lot of this) and wasted effort.
Here's an interesting article on what high performing people need at work - no surprise that clarity and direction are in there.
2. Management of communication.
Don’t confuse, bewilder or use the wrong mediums for the message. Focus on one to one interactions to build relationships and good communication to align people to the work.
Get good at addressing crowds, learn to listen and become a solid writer. It’s why I wrote my online communication course; to help people become better communicators.
Leaders set the tone. Managers set the tone. Everyone sets to the tone. Even if others around you confuse and bark orders, it doesn’t mean we have to. Break the norm and focus on effective communication.
3. Management of trust.
I always advise leaders and managers to set high bars of behaviours and hold them. Be consistent, treat people well, listen and show up.
The leader, manager or employee that does this builds trust. The last thing people want at work is an inconsistent leadership and management team, where one day they are focused on one thing, then the next day on something else. Where one day they are welcoming and kind, then the following day they don’t even acknowledge your presence.
Trust is built over time by being consistent. It's why a sore head won't stop this newsletter.
4. Management of respect.
I always say that people are the engine of success. If it was possible to scale the value a business adds to society with just one person, there would be no need to hire people. But scaling the value means relying on people to help build that value.
So, it makes little sense to hire people to achieve growth and scale and then treat them badly. People must be treated like people, not like resources or spreadsheet line items. Respect is by default. Care for people. Treat them well.
On a side note I have a chapter in my new book (coming soon!) about respect by default. People should not have to “earn respect” - they should have it by just being here on this planet.
5. Management of risk.
Risk is everywhere in business and people respond differently to it. Good leaders manage risk. They mitigate it, deal with it, respond to it, accept it and work with it.
They don’t take stupid leaps of faith and they don’t play with risk carelessly. Some do, and those companies rarely last. Good leaders aren’t risk averse, they’ve just learned how to work with it.
Setting boundaries
One of the downsides of working in the Agile space is people grab hold of seemingly valid sounding ideas and misconstrue them. Servant Leadership is one of those.
As such they coach, preach and define this as the Leader being there solely for the team. This typically translates into a Laissez-faire style of Leadership where the team are left pretty much alone. I see this so much it’s worrying.
But embedded in Servant Leadership is the word leadership. And leading requires making tough decisions, defining a direction and taking on challenges and overcoming them. And this is done with the best interests of the people too. It’s a hard line to walk.
But one thing I see often is leaders giving out tasks that are hard and beyond people’s capabilities and not defining the boundaries of the work. Servant indeed. But leadership requires you set boundaries so people can contain the scope of work. Boundaries help people define the work, but boundaries can also unleash creativity.
Don’t be afraid to set boundaries around tasks, work and behaviours. Just be sure they’re carefully thought through, relevant to the work and not a reflection of your own personality.
People generally work better when there are edges to the work they are creating. Boundaries can help a lot.
Can leadership be taught?
I don’t think Leadership can be taught. Grab 10 books on leadership and you’ll likely find 10 different views on what it is. Sit any leadership training and, if you sit it with a critical mind, you’ll be amazed at how vague and fluffy it is.
I do think leadership can be learned though. And the best way to learn is to read and study widely (like the Bennis and Nanus list above) and to find a leader you admire - and copy them.
I think everyone can lead and we often simply need to find a leader we admire and measure ourselves against them. In fact, find several leaders you admire, in or out of work, and copy all of their good behaviours - and weave in your own personality.
The trick to good leadership though, is having something worth leading towards. Remember, people choose to follow a leader. And they’ll choose a leader to follow if the cause is worth following and the leader is actually doing some leading.
Meetings - and how to have good ones
I stumbled across this interesting free eBook about meetings and gatherings. It’s not a million miles away from this post I wrote a few years back about how to have a good meeting. Alas, I guess I need to spend some more money on marketing my work :)
Project Management
Rule 1 of project management is to pick a single tool to contain work and make everyone use it. Rule 2 is to be honest about progress, delays and slippages. I could write an essay about this but Seth Godin has already written two great posts. One about missing deadlines, and one about meeting deadlines.
Conflict with management
You are protected by law for abuse, bullying or inconsistent behaviour from managers at work - well, in the UK you are - check your own country's laws for something similar.
Remember this as a manager - treat people like people and do the right thing. But also remember, under no circumstances should you let managers treat you badly. Here is a case that went to a tribunal when a manager started bullying an employee.
Rituals are important
I have many rituals and routines. They serve me well. But it’s less about the actual ritual or routine and more about the meaning you associate to it.
Simply journaling for the sake of it, typically won’t make that routine stick. Simply checking a release before going live for the sake of it, won’t catch the problems that particular routine is there for.
It all comes down to why you are doing the ritual or routine or habit in the first place.
The Right to disconnect
There is a new law coming in for many countries about the right to disconnect. It means your evenings and weekends can be spent not connected to work (by law).
Whether we choose to disconnect is another thing. But what about remote work? Will this law make sense when we’re working from home? How will we learn to switch off? I have no problem with this but I know many will do.
Until next week - take care of yourself and others.
Rob..
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Rob..