Some days it can seem ridiculously unfair, but in putting yourself forward, others have a genuine interest in your actions – the things that you do and don’t do have a real lived effect on those who you lead.
It’s easy in the busy-ness of leading, particularly when we live in the balancing act of middle-level leadership, to get caught in our heads and own challenges and forget the impact of the small actions that we take on those we lead.
If you are constantly juggling your calendar, a ridiculous amount to fit in, even if the demands placed on your time feel out of your control, your people notice what you consistently move and postpone. If that is
their experience of that calendar juggle is that they are less important, or not valuable or important compared to your other work. Which some weeks might be exactly how you feel! But when this happens consistently over time (even if you don’t intend it to), it significantly damages your team’s culture and can lead to real problems of engagement and performance in their work.
If you are constantly juggling an overflowing inbox and don’t have time to close the loop with your team, acknowledge details they have sent you or give your people the response they need in a timely fashion, they can waste time waiting for you, fill the information gap with their own stories, or lose motivation as they see their contribution as not valued.
If you are too busy to say hi, say thank you, make eye contact or be a decent human to the people you are leading, the small acts of saving time for you add up over time to a message to your people that you don’t respect, value or appreciate them.
Think about a leader who you worked for who was always too busy for you….
how was your engagement, motivation or performance for them?
It might feel some weeks like “they” take a pound of flesh in every leadership moment with them. But the more pounds you give them, quite quickly over time, you build trust with your people and they need less of you. If you are consistent with your actions, attentions and acknowledgement of their value, contribution and efficacy, you build trust, engagement and capacity. You build human relationships and through this you develop your confidence in yourself and your team, the confidence of each of your team members and in turn you will see improved performance.
The little moments of leadership add up.
As you plan your week ahead and start to feel the workload overwhelm before you even start, remember that your leadership role is not a sideline. It’s not a thing to get to in the miraculous week or month from now when you “have more time!” Leadership happens in all of your day to day interactions and actions with your team.
Some days it can seem ridiculously unfair, but in putting yourself forward, others have a genuine interest in your actions – the things that you do and don’t do have a real lived effect on those who you lead.
It’s easy in the busy-ness of leading, particularly when we live in the balancing act of middle-level leadership, to get caught in our heads and own challenges and forget the impact of the small actions that we take on those we lead.
If you are constantly juggling your calendar, a ridiculous amount to fit in, even if the demands placed on your time feel out of your control, your people notice what you consistently move and postpone. If that is
their experience of that calendar juggle is that they are less important, or not valuable or important compared to your other work. Which some weeks might be exactly how you feel! But when this happens consistently over time (even if you don’t intend it to), it significantly damages your team’s culture and can lead to real problems of engagement and performance in their work.
If you are constantly juggling an overflowing inbox and don’t have time to close the loop with your team, acknowledge details they have sent you or give your people the response they need in a timely fashion, they can waste time waiting for you, fill the information gap with their own stories, or lose motivation as they see their contribution as not valued.
If you are too busy to say hi, say thank you, make eye contact or be a decent human to the people you are leading, the small acts of saving time for you add up over time to a message to your people that you don’t respect, value or appreciate them.
Think about a leader who you worked for who was always too busy for you….
how was your engagement, motivation or performance for them?
It might feel some weeks like “they” take a pound of flesh in every leadership moment with them. But the more pounds you give them, quite quickly over time, you build trust with your people and they need less of you. If you are consistent with your actions, attentions and acknowledgement of their value, contribution and efficacy, you build trust, engagement and capacity. You build human relationships and through this you develop your confidence in yourself and your team, the confidence of each of your team members and in turn you will see improved performance.
The little moments of leadership add up.
As you plan your week ahead and start to feel the workload overwhelm before you even start, remember that your leadership role is not a sideline. It’s not a thing to get to in the miraculous week or month from now when you “have more time!” Leadership happens in all of your day to day interactions and actions with your team.
