People are constantly evolving. As we grow, get older, and experience new things, the sum total of who we are is constantly changing. We are not the same people we were a year ago, two years ago, ten years ago. Because every experience, every relationship, every success, every failure, has an impact on the bottom line of our perspective.
The exact same thing is true of teams. Every team, which is a collection of constantly evolving people, is constantly evolving… hopefully for the better, of course. But evolving regardless. As the individuals on the team get better in their roles, the individual’s impact on the team changes. As the individuals on the team get to know each other better, they begin to interact and function together differently. The sum total of every team is never static. And whenever you change even ONE element of the team… one person departs, or one person joins… you are changing the organism of the team.
All of these truisms means that every team leader needs to be constantly evolving in their leadership of these constantly evolving teams of constantly evolving people. If our leadership style and behaviors remain static, we won’t be able to keep up with the dynamic changes of our team.
On the other hand, if we swing the pendulum too far the other way, and are constantly changing our leadership style, and have no consistency in our approach, we create all sorts of other problems. The answer is balance, between being a dynamic leader who evolves along with our team, but at the same time has some core consistency in our approach.
I coach on this topic all the time, and the mindset I teach is based on two things:
- Create a list of things that are really important to you. Write them down. Make sure the list is not super long. My list has five entries.
- Create a list of things that your team needs from you in order to be successful. Write them down. Take a “servant leadership” approach. What can you provide to help your team be successful? They are not there to serve you. You are there to serve them.
Then compare the lists, looking for potential things in conflict with each other. Is there something that is important to you that will be in direct conflict with your team’s needs? Or vice versa. If so that needs to be resolved. But if not, you now have your roadmap which will balance what is important to you and what is required of you by your team.
Repeat this exercise once or twice per year, and you will be able to keep up with the change going on inside of you, and inside of your team. We are all constantly evolving. And so are our teams.
Our leadership approach needs to constantly evolve as well.
Good luck!
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Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?
Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?
Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?
We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication. Explore training, coaching, and consulting services from The Latimer Group.
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