We all have habits we follow daily that keep us from being “loosy goosy” or operating in a completely pell-mell manner. Are your habits also consistently applied to how you lead?
While it doesn’t work to use “auto-pilot” leadership, as every person and every scenario requires that you be consciously engaged on providing development for those you have the privilege of leading, there are some habits that leaders need to employ in order to show not only conscious involvement, but consistency.
Consistent habits that the most successful leaders employ include:
- regular team meetings
- regular reminders of expectations and goals
- regular individual touch-base sessions or follow ups
- frequent, though unscheduled and only delivered when appropriate, recognition of jobs done well
- regular reevaluation of what’s working, what’s not, and what should be stopped, started or continued for you and the team members
If you’re not using these habits or developing them, and you lead people on a team (even if the team is tiny) then it may be time to re-evaluate your leadership and make some changes. Leading others is a daily activity, not one you are promoted into, do once, and set aside to go do your own tasks. Think shampoo instructions… rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. Or, as one corporate training client who engaged us to provide profiles and leadership courses shared with me, “this is kind of like your personal life… you wouldn’t tell your spouse you loved him or her once and not expect to have to address again for the next year”… the same applies to the expectations, instructions, praise, guidance and development of those you lead. Once a year is not enough and if you’re just going about this in a loosy goosy, unorganized fashion, expect the performance of those you lead to be the same.
