As a leader, you’re only as good as the team you’re leading. So how do you earn the privilege of leading the best? By investing in those you work with, so they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Today, people rightly want more from their working lives, which means spending your time, effort and resources - fully and wisely - on making them feel empowered.
Leaders used to say their people either ‘got it or didn’t – nowadays, short-term thinking like that will cost you. It’s transactional - regarding staff as costs, there to deliver for you – rather than transformational - regarding staff as investments, to deliver with you and take your project to new heights. The leaders who put a man on the moon built Apple and launched Tesla didn’t settle for journeymen who could ‘just do the job’…and neither should you.
Luckily, Hershey & Blanchard provides a barbie-ready framework for empowering your people according to their needs: See diagram below.
If they’re at stage 1 - the directing phase - they lack knowledge and experience and need strong direction to get them moving.
Stage 2 is the coaching phase - they still lack experience but have shown they’re keen – it’s time to increase their knowledge and give them the confidence to start making decisions.
Next comes the supporting phase, where they’ve shown they can deliver but need you to show your commitment before they’ll brave being autonomous.
And finally comes stage 4, the delegating phase: they’re ready, willing, and able, and it’s time for you to accept that the flow of information is now from follower to leader.
So, to be the best, help your team be the best, by investing in them, in the right way, at the right time.
And remember… life’s good.
Clint