Some things I know about leadership
I’ve led/managed people pretty much my entire professional life. From day 1, straight out of uni, all the way up until now, I’ve worked my way through various teams and roles. I haven’t always gotten it right. In fact, the times I’ve gotten it very, very wrong have been far more valuable.
Here are a few things I’ve learned about being a boss and a leader. Lest we forget that leadership doesn’t mean people actually report to you,leadership is a mindset. Ultimately, leadership is about understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and harnessing them for the good of others and the overall success of the team.
So, let’s get on with it.
1. A's don't hire A's
Firstly, don’t rank order people. The skills and abilities of people are nuanced. They can’t be stack-ranked.
What people tend to mean by “A’s hire A’s” is that we have a specific culture (you can read that how you like), and as a hiring manager, you better conform.
Truth is, most interview processes don’t give you a fair sense of who a person is. For sure, you can go with your gut, but trust me, your subconscious biases like people who look and speak like you. You should try and be as objective as possible during a recruitment process, and if A’s only hire A’s, then soon we’ll be in a citadel of Ricks situation. We can’t all be the most amazing person ever.
We all have different strengths and weaknesses. A strong team is made of people who complement each other. Do not fall into the trap of hiring the loudest person in the room.
2. If you want innovation, make space for failure
I say this to someone at least once a week: if you want your team to experiment, you must make space for failure.
This means a few things in practice;
You shouldn’t be afraid of failure yourself. Come up with a hypothesis, test it and see what happens. You can’t possibly know everything, and if you did, life wouldn’t be any fun. Be brave enough to step out of your comfort zone and model the behaviour you want to see from your team.
Reward creativity; don’t just chase random results. Chasing after a metric without really understanding why or what you’re doing is just relying on luck. Come up with a plan first and then test the hypothesis.
Space for experimentation must come top down. If your leadership team wants audacious results, they have to be prepared for calculated risks. It’s your job to make this case.
This might mean your neck ends up being on the line. I’d rather my neck be on the line to create space for amazing teams to do amazing things than be mediocre and do things the way they’ve always been done. Maybe that’s just me.
3. Always have your team's back in public
Very much related to 2, always always always have your team’s backs in public.
The one rule I have always and without fail implemented is that it has never mattered what someone on my team did, I would always back them up in public. Without this, they’ll never innovate.
Don’t get me wrong, people on my teams have often done daft things. That’s not the point, the point is that I will always back them in public and would never call them out.
Coach in private, always. Your team need psychological safety to try new things, so whether or not you agree with what/how they did something, have their backs. Always.
This one also extends to being the ally you always wish you had. Stop writing “needs to speak up in meetings” in people’s performance reviews. It’s equally valid to write “actively make space for other people to contribute” on the reviews of extroverts.
4. Coach the gain, not the gap
Energy flows where your attention goes. Stop focusing on what people need to do to improve and focus on their passions and how far they've come.
“Feedback” makes my blood run cold, and I’m not alone. You immediately get someone’s hackles up when you ask them if you can give them some feedback. You make more friends with honey than vinegar. You’ll go further celebrating success than you will battering someone for something they’re not good at.
5. But sometimes, when the gap is too big, be brave and courageous
Sometimes, coaching the gain won’t work. When you need to have tough conversations, be calm, objective and honest.
A good leader will set a standard, be clear about what is and isn’t acceptable and then focus on the positive progress to build momentum. There may come a time when this isn’t feasible anymore, and you must explicitly focus on the negatives. Go forth with humility and courage and have those conversations. The longer you leave them, the bigger the impact on the rest of the team.
6. Get out of the way
Top tip for an easy life. Immediately hire people who are better and more experienced than you, and then get out of their way.
There's no point hiring amazing people them micromanaging them. Without trust, you have nothing.
7. Shut up and Listen
You don't know everything; stop pretending you do. Life would be boring if you did. Just shut up and listen.
If your team isn’t talking to you, reflect on your leadership style. Always be available and always listen without judgment. People will tell you what they need. It’s not your job to figure that out; it’s your job to listen to them and facilitate their performance.
8. Never leave a meeting on a downer
One of the best things for team morale is to let people moan in meetings; it forges a sort of trauma bonding. It's important, however, that this doesn't take over the whole meeting and that this isn't the note you end on.
Take the last 5/10 minutes (or however long you have) to reaffirm the strategy and direction and review the results you already see from your strategic focus. End on optimistic (but realistic) positive messages. You can give space to your team to moan about shit; we all need it, but don't let them sit in it and stew.
Don't drown them in an abundance of positivity, though. When it's rough out there, admit it. Because positivity and optimism and not the same thing, and it'll come across as fake and disingenuous.
9. You're not too important to actually be a manager
Approve the holiday quickly. Don't ask where they're going or why they need the time off. It's none of your business. Sort expenses questions and payroll issues, and make sure commissions are correct before payday.
Doesn't matter what level you are. If you're a functional manager, functionally manage. End of
10. Your goal should be to make yourself redundant. If it's not, you're not growing.
Ok, so maybe this is just my goal. But the best experiences I've had and the strongest teams I've built have been in places where I've focused on the strength of the team and the individuals within it to the extent that they no longer need me.
To facilitate the growth of individuals and teams to such an extent that they all become experts is quite the experience and it’s one of my favourites. Leadership isn’t about knowing everything and being the font of all knowledge; it’s about facilitating the performance of the people who work for you for the good of the company.
Bonus tip number 11
Be careful not to burn yourself out in service of what’s right for your team. If you have a leadership team that thinks that what’s right for the company and what’s right for the people who work for the company are mutually exclusive, be very selective about which battles you fight.
The best leaders I have met, worked with, and for have been exceptionally high in empathy. Don’t absorb the stress of those around you. Don’t run yourself into the ground fighting for fairness. Be kind to yourself; managing teams of people is a hard job. You’re doing great.
