February FAQ — Leadership Principles
One Friday each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts about them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
What leadership principles have you found most effective in managing and motivating store teams?
I recently held some conversations with leaders at differing levels of their careers. This question came up, and I thought it was an excellent question from a young Team Leader that wanted to know how they could do more in their future.
It is an excellent question, and one that is difficult to answer, in the sense that there is so much that could be said. There are so many foundational items for leadership to ensure you are building a strong team or group of followers.
Authenticity
You need to be yourself in everything you do. When you try to be someone else, leaders usually find themselves in trouble chasing a ghost. Authenticity builds trust. It also keeps you grounded. As a young leader, your experiences now will be as, or more, valuable as you grow into advancing career positions. Remember these times and events, and recall how you feel while you experience them. Use that to connect to your team in the future. Placing yourself in their shoes will create empathy and allow you to see what is happening through their lens.
People see through charades. If they believe you are trying to be something you’re not, they will not believe anything you say or do. No one really likes working with the ‘do as I say’ leaders versus the ‘do as I do’ leader. Recognize that you are living in a glass house and those around you watch and see everything you do. If you are true to yourself, they will trust and follow you.
Vison
People want to know they are being lead to someplace better than what they know now, even if the current state is pretty good. Great leaders paint a picture of purpose, growth, and excitement. A good vision will give the team meaning in what they are doing. Continuing sharing all aspects of that vision will provide the self motivation that the team needs to embrace and work hard towards reaching that next-level outcome. Be as detailed as you can in what you want to accomplish to help the team see the possibilities you believe in.
A great vision will tell the story of who you are, as a team or company. It will also include what you do and why you do it. Visions are more than a sentence or two, they define what your future will be. So, also include why you do it to create that sense of purpose for everyone to understand it goes beyond the day-to-day work. And finally, share what it looks like when you’re living your vision. This is a great framework for building your vision story.
Coaching
Talking about coaching as a critical leadership principle, especially ahead of what many might expect, may surprise you. However, I believe that coaching is underrated and underutilized as a leadership skill. It encompasses so many other elements of leadership. It requires that you have set clear expectations, so you can share your observations against what was expected. It incorporates timely and meaningful feedback about performance. It includes observing, in real time, how people behave in their roles and discussing that. Coaching is about development and helping others get better in their job.
Coaching is a form of accountability without the immediate stigma of being about ‘getting in trouble.’ Accountability is not a four letter word, and neither should coaching. If a leader saw themselves as a coach first and a boss second, I think we’d have a lot more success stories to talk about in businesses and people leadership in general.
The above principles are truly what I see as the foundational elements of great leadership. The through line theme for these is communication. It would be impossible to discuss the core leadership principles and not include what communication means to successful leadership. It is inclusive in being authentic. When you’re true to yourself, you’re willing to share information, clearly and frequently. Vision has communication written all over it. If you don’t share your vision through words, written follow up, and your behaviors, you will not lead others very long. Those pieces are all forms of communicating with your team. And finally, coaching is also c completely immersed in communication. Observation, feedback, providing insights are all about connecting one-on-one with others. It is a potent form of communication because it is so personal. Leveraged effectively, it will prove to be one of the most important principles of leadership you’ll use for being a successful leader in any of your future roles.
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