Leaders often see their job as driving greatness from others. But the first step in elevating others is developing your own leadership style.
And that's not as easy as it might seem. Leaders often try to impress others. Or they copy leadership styles they see elsewhere that might not apply to their situation.
That's why you must find and stick to your "true north" values when taking action to improve your leadership style, says Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic and a professor at Harvard Business School.
"When you follow your true north in your leadership development," George said, "your leadership will be authentic and people will naturally want to associate with you."
George and Zach Clayton wrote "True North: Leading Authentically in Today's Workplace."
Understand Your Crucibles To Facilitate Leadership Development
To start, ask yourself what you learned from your most challenging experiences. How did they help you grow as a human being?
The way you deal with your greatest adversities, George says, "will shape your character far more than the adversities themselves."
"I don't think we grow from our successes as much as we from the lessons of our most challenging times," he said.
Demand Authenticity Of Yourself To Facilitate Leadership Development
You can't be an effective leader "until you gain self-awareness," George said.
Give authenticity a nudge — or a shove in the back — by surrounding yourself with "truth tellers to give you honest feedback," George said. In addition, "take 20 minutes a day to be introspective."
Empathize With Others To Facilitate Leadership Development
Creating inclusive organizations where everyone feels like they belong is also critical to being a successful leader, George says. But how do you do that?
"People will give you their hearts," he said. "The key is lead with your heart."
Some of the leaders George has studied have the smarts but have failed because they lack qualities of the heart. "This includes compassion, empathy, and courage," he said. "You need those qualities to be a good leader today. And then with that kind of leadership, you create an inclusive organization where everyone feels like they belong."
Coach To Reach And Develop People
Medicine is an industry where leadership is literally life or death.
What lessons can you learn from this industry? The next time a direct report seeks answers for a situation, keep your thoughts to yourself. Try a coaching approach instead, says Dr. Richard Winters. Winters is a Mayo Clinic emergency physician. He's also an executive coach and the director of leadership development for the Mayo Clinic Care Network.
He prescribes asking team members open-ended questions to discover their perspectives. Ask them: "What do you think? What else could you consider? What might get in your way? How would you like to proceed?"
"Effective leaders are teachers and coaches," Winters said. "They help their colleagues become less dependent on them. They develop leaders rather than followers."
Winters wrote "You're The Leader. Now What? Leadership Lessons from Mayo Clinic."
Get To Know Your Team As People Instead Of Just As Employees
"Boss" and "employee" are two of Doug Hirsch's least favorite words. "They manufacture power dynamics that make it harder to create lasting connections," he said. Hirsch is the CEO and co-founder of GoodRx, a digital health care platform.
Hirsch believes leaders should schedule meetings with people outside of the office. "By stepping out of your typical work environment, you remove a barrier of formality."
These out-of-office connections develop tighter working relationships and they also give your teammates an authentic look at your values, Hirsch says.
"Values mean little if you don't live them out," he said.
Set The Standard And The Example
Don't be that leader who speaks of the importance of values but acts differently, Winters says.
"Culture is by definition values plus behavior," Hirsch said. "If you want to change organizational culture, examine the behaviors of leaders. And a great place to start is by examining your own behaviors."
