What Guides our Decisions as Leaders
Being a responsible leader can be really complicated, especially today. It’s a 24/7 job. Some people come by it very naturally and others study successful leaders and learn from them. No matter what our leadership style is, it will need to shapeshift based on the audience and the end results we are trying to achieve. But that doesn’t mean compromising our values, it means being flexible when it calls for it. It takes courage. Courage to have integrity and do what we believe is right no matter what the noise around us.
There is a lot of talk about emotional intelligence as being a critical trait in leaders and I agree entirely. There is nothing worse than a tone-deaf boss. They just bumble along no matter what is going on around them oblivious to the good of the group or the organization, often so focused on their own upward mobility that they can’t focus on anything else. Then there are those that are so terrified of actually leading they let their employees or company run all over them. Either choice is equally unfortunate.
Unless you are leading your own one-person company, the person in charge probably has an obligation to many different stakeholders. The owners, leadership, customers, clients, employees, and in real estate, the sales associates all are key factors in getting and maintaining the results companies so desperately seek.
I have observed and learned from many leaders throughout my career. Some I worked for directly and others I watched from afar. I learned that we are never going to make everyone happy, so we have to establish the core values of the way we lead and stick to them, knowing that there will be fall out or unhappiness along the way and maybe even some failure. But that’s how we learn.
Part of leading is being able to identify what type of leadership to execute and when.
1. Decisions we make based on collaboration with our own internal employees, coworkers, or peers. Working as a team to come up with solutions and strategies is the most fun because people will get behind something when they are a part of the decision. There is nothing like creating a brain trust to solve problems. You share the rewards and the failures.
2. Decisions we have to deliver at the directive of our leadership or shareholders. I can’t even count how many people I had to lay off in my corporate career. Most of those layoffs were not my decision and I may or may not have agreed with the decision, but I executed it. I often fought it, but sometimes we have to trust that the leaders are acting for the overall good of the organization and operating with information we may not be aware of.
3. Decisions we have to execute based on external forces and issues. A client may demand that something be done a certain way and the only thing we can do is try and execute it in a fashion that works for everyone and achieves the desired results. Covid is an example of an external force that forced us all to pivot unexpectedly. Some people were able to adapt and others just froze. Staying hyper-aware of external forces that may affect our business allows us to get in front of the changes at our own pace instead of having to react in crisis mode.
4. Decisions we make based on our own experience and the responsibility to lead. I have seen leaders who are so terrified of their teams that they actually don’t lead. They cower and allow people to push the department along in the direction that is best for them not the company or clients. If you are the leader, you may have to make decisions that you know are the way to go and not everyone will always be happy with your decision. But when you employ people who cannot see the big picture and what is best for them or the business in the long run, then sometimes you have to stand up and make the best decision for the overall good. It can be risky when implementing decisions that may not be popular with employees, but leading is risky. You cannot fear failure or you will never reap the rewards of doing the hard things.
No matter what guides our decisions, we have to stay the course. We can’t leave the ship without a rudder, someone has to determine the direction to ensure we are going in the right direction. We can’t always be popular either, but if decisions are made based on sound information, insights from others, and experience, we have stepped up and done what we need to do to succeed.
“Leaders must either invest a reasonable amount of time attending to fears and feelings or squander an unreasonable amount of time trying to manage ineffective and unproductive behavior.”~ Brené Brown, American research professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host
