02/13/2019
Lead as Though Others’ Lives Depend on It – It Does
When people in positions of influence say, “People are our most important resource,” but they make statements and take actions (or inaction) which do not square accordingly with this maxim, they deal in death. “Wow!, Too Strong!, You kidding me?” some of you may be thinking, “this guy is morose and a Debbie Downer.” I’m not. In fact, I am a realist – a pragmatist who calls you to look to your better angels and do your job with people as well or better than achieving your “outcomes.”
Until the singularity occurs, we don’t yet have self-running AI platforms to completely run a company, so people are the juice that make companies win or lose, thrive or die. If people in an organization, especially the management team (or in some cases, the leadership team), do not care with integrity for those “human resources” you are entrusted to lead, then by each day, comment, and with each action, or inaction, you become the figure in a hooded robe grasping a scythe – The Grim Reaper.
You are watched carefully if you are an influencer, and if someone isn’t watching you personally, you can rest assured your ability or inability to care with integrity is being passed along the human channels quickly by other sets of eyes and ears. Reputations are made or lost only through daily observations and as we know, they can be destroyed in seconds. You can kill the spirit with a glance, with a public or private reprimand, by shooting down or pushing off potential suggestions and solutions, or just not recognizing someone as they walk by you. Do this daily, and you bring those entrusted to you ever closer to death; not a physical one but perhaps worse.
When you behave and speak in these ways, you can quickly turn someone into a silent zombie who walks through the day operating at a level you just cannot afford. That’s a huge cost of poor leadership you just burdened your company and organization with; money you can ill afford to waste.
So how can you care with integrity and lead accordingly? Some of it isn’t hard.
Buy some thank you notes and keep the box at your desk, so you can take the 45 seconds it takes to appreciate someone while you are thinking of it. Not a single person, not even a strong introvert, doesn’t appreciate you knowing enough about them to tell them when they’ve done great work. Don’t wait for the big monthly awards setting. Water the garden daily. I highly advocate using the small window note cards you can purchase at Compendium’s website – inspirational quotes with a few lines for a note.
Purchase Kouzes and Posner’s “Encouraging the Heart”, which describes hundreds of ways to recognize team members or individuals such as how to use ceremonies.
Look for someone in your organization with a lot of potential (coal underground) and learn how to apply the right kinds of pressure to form them into a diamond.
Other thought-provoking tips can also be found in my newly published book, “The Leadership Quotient”.
Whatever you decide to do, consider leading with integrity and caring with integrity. What you sow will reap great rewards or create zombies.
