A Common Leadership Dilemma
By Jodie Shaw, B2B Marketing MavenLeaders, both new and established, struggle with this dilemma all the time. The good news is when you finally solve this problem - almost immediately you will start to receive more compliments on your leadership style. Plus, as an added bonus, you will get far more enjoyment from your role.It’s called letting go. For most leaders it seems like the opposite of what you should do when you take over the reins of a department or company. What I am speaking about is becoming less hands on and trusting the team of people who work with you.Think about all the time you currently spend at work. How much of that time is spent dealing direct with your customers, putting out fires, dealing with issues, worrying about sales and money – versus developing and mentoring your people?
If you spend less than 80% of your time working directly with your team, you have yet to evolve into a true leader.As a leader, the vast majority of your time should be spent developing people. Don’t have the people you can trust to get the job done? Unfortunately, that is more of a reflection on you versus them. Your team should be able to handle any business situation better than you, if you develop, train and mentor them and if you put in place the systems that help the business run more efficiently.In business, a true leader looks after their team. It is their most important priority. True leaders understand the cycle of business and that their team will take care of the customers, the customers will in turn take care of the business (in terms of revenue and market share) and the business will take care of the shareholders and business owner. Seeing that the business is performing means the shareholders / owners will in turn take care of the leader and the cycle continues.If you are in a leadership role and you are feeling stressed, start developing a strategic plan where you surround yourself with a trusted team.Once you have a passionate, eager and engaged team which you can delegate 80% of what you do, and your role is to provide guidance, encouragement and mentoring – your stress will dissipate and you will become a happier leader.A happier leader creates a better culture that attracts more business. You will also find yourself (now that you have shared the load with your trusted team) with more time to strategically think about how to grow and innovate. [author]About the Author: Jodie Shaw found herself running a multinational company by the time she was 40. Her lessons in leadership came from failing forward, and that being in charge, means taking less charge. You can follow her on LinkedIn.[/author]
