Has anyone ever asked you that question – how do you want to be led?
Have you ever asked your team that question?
If you were fortunate enough to be offered training in leadership, you’re probably familiar with the concept of situational leadership, which suggests providing different levels of support and guidance to your people based on the … ahem … situation. Meaning, you’ll offer a calibrated amount of support and guidance depending upon their expertise relative to the task or project at hand.
That’s great and appropriate, of course. One wouldn’t want to toss a complex task over the wall at a junior employee, nor micro-manage an expert assigned a well-understood task.
But there’s more to it than that, because each individual is so much more than their expertise and skill level.
They also have different needs and wants in terms of how they want to be led.
Some people hate even a hint of what they’d call micro-managing. Others want more feedback along the way. Some prefer to be recognized for their work in public, while others might feel like hiding under their desk if you acknowledge them in front of the group.
And what inspires one employee to dig in and give their all to a project isn’t necessarily what inspires another.
The greatest responsibility of any leader is to understand their people so they can support them and help them grow.
A second key leadership responsibility is to understand themselves so they know what support they need to help themselves grow.
How do you want to be led?
How do your people – which means, each individual team member – want to be led?
Important questions, and yes, they take some time and effort to understand and answer.
Have you considered this question, for yourself or your team? Want some help digging into it? Contact me and we’ll set a time to talk!