How to Be the Unparalleled Leader Your People Want You to Be
We all have heard the cliche, “people don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses.” as it turns out, the cliche is bang on! According to a 2015 Gallup poll of 7,272 U.S. adults, half the respondents, at some point in their career, left their jobs to get away from their managers.
Digging even deeper, it turns out that employees with bad managers are not only less motivated, and less engaged, they are 60% more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease (The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine).
So I guess there is something to be said about the value of cliches.
Leadership Effectiveness
In this article, we will uncover some key components of what it takes to become an effective leader.
It’s no secret that the leader sets the tone for the whole operation. Whether that be the company, the department or the team. Being effective means getting the best from people in spite of perceived limitations–raising them up to succeed.
Micheal Tanner
Leadership Coach Michael Tanner says, “Leadership is influencing others towards a shared goal. It starts with influencing others, regardless of your title.”
Many businesses measure their leadership effectiveness through metrics like attrition and revenue goals. But Tanner refutes, “The issue that I have with those types of metrics is that those are lagging metrics. Those are the equivalent of the scoreboard at the end of the game. And the problem with the scoreboard at the end of the game is it’s the end of the game, and you can’t change the scoreboard anymore. To look at attrition as a metric for leadership effectiveness, in my opinion, it’s too late. You’ve already lost your best team members. They’ve resigned.”
In your business, what would be a good measure of leadership effectiveness and success?
By understanding the lead measures to leadership effectiveness–in other words, being able to analyze various facets of the components of effective leadership, we can understand and adjust our behaviour and our mindset.
Tanner proposes an objective method to measure leadership effectiveness in real-time so that leaders can take the necessary action right away to improve it. He calls it his Leadership Equation.
The Leadership Equation
According to Tanner, Leadership 🟰 (Credibility + Competence) ➗ Motive✖️ Relationship
1. Credibility
Credibility is your track record or your history of success. You walk the talk and model your values. Being believable and trustworthy–having the reputation for doing what’s right, builds your credability.
2. Competence
You have the knowledge and skills for success. You have subject matter expertise. You may even be a lifelong learner, constantly honing your level of competence.
3. Motive
“Motive for us answers that all-important question of why do you want to be a leader,”
says Tanner.
In high-trust organizations and teams, your motive is clear. However, if you’ve suffered in the trustworthy realm, your people will be constantly trying to assess if your motives are selfish or selfless. Are you a Taker or a Giver? People’s perceived impression of your motive is tied to being trustworthy and credible.
“I’m a big proponent of this idea that action precedes feelings. And so, if you want to have the feelings or the emotions of selfless leadership, then you need first to start taking the actions of a selfless leader, or a servant leader. When you start to see how you, as a leader, are positively impacting the lives of those you’re leading, then it just has this natural ability to change your heart, your mind, and your attitude towards leadership.”
Motive is a divisor in this equation because it can significantly impact, negatively or positively, your leadership effectiveness.
4. Relationship
If the divisor or denominator (motive) is bigger than the numerator (credibility and competence), the total becomes smaller. But the saving grace is relationships. This is the level of relationship that you have with your team members as people. It’s critical that we get to know our people–what are their strengths? What are their passions? What are their motivations?
Check out Marc’s full Interview with Michael Tanner
Relationships are multiplied in the equation because a high level of relationship can positively influence the equation and can actually overcome shortcomings in any of the other three variables.
“Do leaders have the appropriate relationship with their team members? Because when they do, I think team members find it much more difficult to resign and leave the team when that’s the case,” says Tanner.
In conclusion, it is vital to come from an understanding that “leadership is not a destination but a journey.” Tanner goes on to say, “It’s not a position, or some rank, or authority. It’s not a place that you arrive at.”
As leaders, we will be forever on this journey. It doesn’t end after you’ve entirely ticked off the boxes for the day. That’s not the way it works. This is his piece of advice: “Check your boxes but then come back tomorrow and let’s check some more boxes on this journey to effective leadership.”
As you might have guessed, being an effective leader requires a great deal of humility. We must constantly test and evaluate where we are and what we are doing–not only when things go well, but more so when times are difficult.
About Michael Tanner
Michael Tanner is a leadership veteran with more than 28 years of highly engaged and practical experience. Through successful leadership positions of increasing scope, ranging from the U.S. Marine Corps infantry to C-suite executive, Michael is constantly increasing his knowledge and experience as a leadership practitioner.
Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in leadership. He prides himself on leveraging his unique combination of education, skills, and experience to harness the
greatness within his clients and unleash the possibilities of their leadership potential.
Michael believes that leadership should positively impact lives, not just business results. He is dedicated to being the servant leadership coach that equips all leaders to impact the lives of those they lead.
Check out Michael at https://CredibleLeaders.com
Utilize our Leadership Calculator – credibleleaders.com/calculator
Schedule a free coaching call – credibleleaders.com/coaching
Follow Michael:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/1tanner/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaeltanner42/
Twitter: @mtanner42
About the Author
Marc Haine
Marc is a service expert and a master of experiences. He's also an author, speaker, facilitator and coach. He will help your teams ignite their passions, enable your leaders to recentre their focus, and drive continuous improvement through connected and engaged employees. This will allow you to realize your competitive advantage with a connected purpose and consistency of customer experience across your brand. He will dare your people to cultivate a generous attitude and lead with love and kindness first.
May I simply say what a comfort to discover somebody who genuinely knows what they are talking about over the internet. You actually understand how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More people ought to check this out and understand this side of the story. I cant believe you arent more popular because you surely possess the gift.