Taking Responsibility as a Leader

 "With great power comes great responsibility."Who could forget the ever-famous line from Spiderman, spoken by Peter Parker’s uncle: “With great power comes great responsibility.” In the movie, society expects Spiderman, a comic book, TV, and movie superhero, to take responsibility for saving his town or even the world from evil because he has super powers.Indeed, he never lets us down. With the power he possesses, he makes sure to be responsible in using it for the good of the people around him.Leadership is not all that different from being superheroes. Yes, you may not have super powers like Wonder Woman and Spiderman, but you have the power to lead other people towards success. This is so much greater and stronger since it is a power that can be used by real people in this real world.Being a leader requires a great sense of responsibility.The power to lead your people toward your vision comes with responsibilities like making sure they are working in the right direction, being aware of each and everyone’s tasks and getting them back on track when needed.Who said it is easy to be a leader? Well, it's not…It comes with tons of responsibilities. True leaders are willing to accept them all.There are instances where sometimes it can be tempting to blame somebody else when something goes wrong on a task.A leader should take full responsibility. HIs role is to communicate the vision and priorities clearly, then set everyone up for success. He has to coach, guide and provide feedback and recognition.Model the behavior you expect from your team.With competing priorities and back-to-back changes, some balls may get dropped. What a leader should do is to accept the fact that something went wrong, even if it is not his fault. It is normal that we cannot always deliver as planned or promised. These situations are opportunities to learn something. As a leader, this is a coaching opportunity. He should ensure that the team members learn from these misses and that they know what to do next time. Model the behavior you expect your employees to display in response to problems.You are not expected to have full control over other people's actions, but you have full control of your own reactions. Some of my more demanding clients find this challenging! Knowing how to handle unexpected and unpredictable situations makes you a trustworthy, responsible leader people will be proud to follow.Ingrid KeladaBusiness Psychologist/Happiness ExpertKCC Inc.SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

By |2019-11-05T07:37:34-04:00May 7th, 2018|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on Taking Responsibility as a Leader

Leadership Tool: Delighting in the People You Lead

 Leadership entails getting results, and getting results entails human relationships. One of the best leadership tools you can use is delighting in the people you lead. The more closely the leader and the individuals of the team bond, the more results will usually accrue.However, sometimes leaders and the people they lead look at those relationships as somewhat one-sided. For example, charismatic leaders are commonly defined by sentiments bestowed on them from people. But great leadership is really a two-way street, also involving sentiments from the leader to the people.We can never reach our full potential as leaders until we are delighting the people we lead and, through that delight, leading them to get continually better results while they become continually better as employees and as people.To use this leadership tool properly, three things must be kept in mind.1. Delight must keep high expectations. In your delight, don't be afraid to challenge the people you lead to perform to their highest capability. After all, leadership is not about having people do just what they want to do. If they did want they wanted, you may not be needed as a leader. Leadership is about having people do what they may not want to do and be committed to doing it.2. Delight must be truthful. Don't try to manipulate people through your delight. Be honest with those you lead, even when it's uncomfortable. Have your troops see themselves as they should be seen, not as they want to be seen. Remember to praise your team for their successes.3. Delight must be practical. Link the delight you find in your team with lessons and best practices learned. Let your delight motivate people to take actions to be continually better. In that striving to be better and, getting better in the striving, you and your team will bond. And you'll have a chance to celebrate innovative ways you've improved your tasks together.You may not have thought about delight as a leadership tool, but it is one of the most effective because it goes right to the heart of getting results through the cementing of right relationships. Keep these three factors in mind when expressing your delight, and your leadership will be blessed daily with new opportunities.Ingrid KeladaBusiness Psychologist/Happiness ExpertKCC Inc.SaveSave

By |2019-11-05T07:38:21-04:00April 23rd, 2018|Leadership Tips|Comments Off on Leadership Tool: Delighting in the People You Lead
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