Habits: we all have them...both good and bad ones.
In studying great leaders, I've discovered certain habits that most good ones have perfected. There will be many "leadership lessons" to follow in future posts, but I wanted to quickly dive in to 4 habits that I think we can glean from great leaders, and apply them to our own leadership styles.
1. People follow people before they follow an idea.
- As a leader, you must develop your personal relationships with your team before they will buy into your vision. It's vital to have both, but the priority in the early days needs to be focused on the value you add to their relationship.
2. Empathy is key: speak to others how they need to hear it, not how you want to deliver it
- I truly believe that we're slowly turning society into an empathy-deprived culture. So what does that mean for you and me? It means the leaders that focus on understanding the value that their teams need will win. It is critical as a leader to maintain the ability to put yourself in everyone's shoes. There's a reason the show "Undercover Boss" was so successful...empathizing with your employees is incredibly important.
3. Humility: the last will be first
- This is the essence of servant leadership. No leader exemplified this better than the greatest leader to ever walk the planet: Jesus. "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many people." - Mark 10:45. He had all the authority to be served, but humbled himself, and many of those who followed Him would lay down their lives for His cause, in the same way He first laid his down for them. You have the authority as a leader...but your authority should be secured in your humility.
4. Learn to be selective in your battles.
-Some battles just aren't worth the fight. You know this already. But sometimes we need other people to tell us the stuff we already know. Consider that what I'm doing for you here :). As a leader, you have countless opportunities to decide which battles are important to your team, and which ones you know you need to let go. Spend some time reviewing those battles, and march forward with a level head on which ones are worth fighting for.
I hope you found these 4 habits helpful...be on the lookout for a lot of content like this in the future. If you enjoyed, please consider subscribing...it would mean the world to me! Love you all, talk to you real soon!
-ABB