Senior Leadership

 

Senior leadership.  Teams talk about it all the time. But what is it?  And how do you know it when you see it?

Every team needs leaders. I’m involved with a lot of leadership development activities, so I have a lot of opinions about what it takes to be a leader. I also know that there are different kinds of leaders. 

When you think of a leader, what do you think of?  Do you think of the rah-rah leader, the one that is the loudest?  Or do you think about the silent type—the one that forges ahead and leads purely by example?

Effective leadership can be a combination of many things. If we always look for the same thing in our leaders, we are likely to be disappointed.  I will herein declare that everyone is a leader. It might be on your team, your job, your community, or your family. I will also declare that anyone can be a better leader.  Anyone can grow their leadership skillset.

So, what kind of leadership skills do you have?  Maybe put another way, what are your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?

I believe that all effective leadership is “servant leadership.” What that means to me can best be described in quotes and cliches.

“Leaders eat last.” Author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek even has a book titled Leaders Eat Last.  Effective leaders make sure that others are taken care of before they take care of themselves. Effective leaders put others first.

My Dad always told me “don’t ask anybody to do anything you’re not willing to do yourself.” He started telling me that when I was quite young and it was a lesson well learned—I’ve tried to follow that principle my entire life.  If you want to be a good leader, you never let anyone work harder than you.

Effective leaders display integrity.  Dwight D. Eisenhower has been quoted as saying “the supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.  Without it, no real success is possible.”

Maya Angelou famously said “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” You have to truly care about those that you hope to lead.  Nothing else will work.

Effective leaders are good communicators. Maybe not the rah-rah type and maybe silently leading through their actions, but getting their message across, regardless of how they do it.

John Maxwell has said “good leaders take more than their share of the blame, and less than their share of the credit.”  It’s funny how that works, but know for sure that those that might follow you will do so with great gusto if they truly know that you appreciate their efforts and tell them so.

OK, then how do you extrapolate all that leadership stuff to a sports team? You do it all. Service. Work ethic. Showing integrity. Caring. Communicating. Encouraging.

Be willing to set yourself apart but always be responsible to yourself and to others.