Lead First, Manage Second

The average employee spends two and a half hours a day in drama. I define drama as BMW (blaming, moaning and whining) driving, resisting new approaches, not working in alignment with the organization and choosing not to be engaged. Leaders work diligently to eliminate waste in the business processes, but imagine if we could rid our organizations of drama - emotional waste!

How can we ditch the drama and begin to base ourselves in reality? First, we must understand problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created the issue. To create an organization with employees who are ready and willing for what’s next, it’s not circumstances that need to change, but a change in mindset to succeed in spite of circumstances. This is why each week I’m showing you a new way you can change your thinking about leadership and then sharing a tool that will help you put that philosophy into action. After talking about non-negotiables last week, this week, I’m addressing the difference between leadership and management, and how that difference manifests in the way you interact with the individuals on your team.

In changing times, lead first and manage second.

People who are loyal to you need for you to be empathetic rather than sympathetic. And they also need for you to be responsive through regular individual coaching sessions and calls to greatness.

As leaders, we’ve been taught to believe that group coaching is quicker and saves us time, however, when we attempt to address individual behavior through a group email or meeting, it tends to create more drama as your high accountables, who aren’t at fault, are rushing to your office, hoping they aren’t the ones in trouble. And your low accountables, the ones who needed to hear the message, have either tuned it out or are spending precious time at the water cooler gossiping about whose behavior should change.

There is Strength in Teamwork

Another place to build loyalty is in the realm of teamwork. The definition of teamwork is outlawing the option of judging another team member. Simply put, stop judging, start helping. The highest value question in your team should be, “How can I help?”

Take the Next Actionable Step:

To use individual coaching and development to call teams to greatness and develop people fully into their roles, it is ideal to plan a quick one-on-one with each of your people once a week. A great place to start is with our One-on-One Meeting Agenda. Call your employees to greatness and have them prepare this and bring it, prepared to discuss. Ask for their commitments to follow through. Once you have a good working team, resources become abundant.