Leaders Should Never Do This One Thing

What Should You Do?

• Never Pretend.  If you don’t know the answer to your team’s puzzle, don’t try to bluff.

• Lead With Passion.  According to Marshall Goldsmith, frequently rated as the #1 executive coach in the world, demonstrating passion will help your crew believe in you as a leader, even if they have more technical knowledge. Most people these days want to work for more than a paycheck and the best way to help people demonstrate passion is to show your own.

• Strengthen Abilities and Support Growth.  Goldsmith asserts that, in addition to strengthening your technical abilities, you should be constantly improving your leadership skills. Demonstrating that you take improvement seriously can also help encourage those you lead to do the same.

• Appreciate Time.  If you manage knowledge workers, it’s likely that they don’t work normal 40 hour weeks. When you ask them to work extra, Goldsmith argues, make sure that you do the same and that you show appreciation for their extra effort. I recently coached an executive whose whole crew mutinied when asked one too many times to work weekends. That may be necessary sometimes, but be sure that you give them as much notice as possible and show how much you value their effort.

• Build Networks.  Networks are mandatory these days, not just for job hunters. You – and your team – need to be constantly connecting with other experts to find potential new hires, clients or customers, says Goldsmith.

• Help encourage meaning.  Goldsmith urges leaders to help their folks find meaning in their work, not just a paycheck. Help them see how they are contributing to the vision and values of the organization, talk about the big picture when you are giving assignments and remind them of how they fit into the whole.

• Develop Your EQ.  Learn more about the most important qualities of an effective leader in my Monday Memo on empathy and EQ.

Did You Know