Leadership Tip #3 - What kind of leader are you?

What kind of leader do you want to be? What kind of team do you want to cultivate and mentor?

I Liked You Best!

Think of the manager you liked best, what was it about them that spoke to you?

• Were they kind?
• Were they polite?
• Did they lead with an iron fist?
• Did you feel heard?
• Did they check in often or not at all?
• Did they keep you in the loop as you would expect to be?
• Did they lead the team or did the team lead them?
• Did they emulate traits you wanted to emulate or avoid?

You scare me!

Decide if you liked your manager best due to positive traits or due to negative ones.

Sometimes, we are the best managers because of the types of managers we never want to be like. Think about it; if you have/had a manager who was a micromanager, you might be hands off more. If you have/had a manager who spoke badly to you and your team, you might go out of your way to be polite. Worst of all, if you have/had a manager with questionable ethics, you might take extra precautions to be above board at all costs.

Look Inward to Your Team

What's important to do, is to combine all those traits, the good (to emulate) and the not-so-good (to avoid) and behave in a way that your team best responds to.

Because at the end of the day, it's not about you; It's about your team functioning as a cohesive unit and if you're managing the way you were managed, you may be way off base for what your team needs to be productive.

Food for thought for a Wednesday.

Lead well,

Dena.