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.
All of these obvious truisms means that every team leader needs to be constantly evolving in our 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. Is there something that is important to you that will be in direct conflict with your team’s needs? If so that needs to be resolved. But if not, you now have your roadmap, that balances 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. Our leadership approach needs to change as well.
Good luck!
Does your team:
– Take too long to make decision?
– Fail to ask for what it wants or needs from you?
– Make things too complicated?
– Deliver unconvincing or disorganized presentations?
– Have new hires who are unprepared to communicate in the workplace?
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