How to build a Good Leadership Legacy
The following ways to build a
good leadership legacy will ensure you don't end up as fodder for worse boss
stories or find yourself in a conversation with coworker, employees, followers
and Virgil during one of their usual strolls complaining of your lousy
managerial experiences:
- Get to know the
people that work for you. Learn their names and of
their spouses and children, and also pay attention to the pictures and
personal mementos on their desks or boards. Your effort to pay attention
and show genuine interest is a show of respect and interest for your
associates.
- Listen more than you
talk. Use ears and mouth proportionally. Where you
ask for input, take your time for formal and informal discussions,
feedback and ideas. Some managers think that they are being paid to
generate the best ideas. Good leaders know that their people are the
source of the best ideas and they work harder to create forums for those
ideas to be uncovered and developed.
- Dispense credit liberally.
Never ever take credit that belongs to someone else if that person
deserved all the credit and praises.
- Ensure that your
actions match your words. We all know that words without
action are cheap talk. You’ve got to show that you are committed.
One leader suggested that, "The Say and the Do" have to match.
- Know when to stay out
of the way. If you've done your job in picking the right people,
creating good working atmosphere and providing a direction, then it's time
to get out of the way and let people work.
- Everyone respects
accountability. Enforce it consistently, evenly and fairly.
No biases and exceptions.
- The only finger
pointing you should ever do is at yourself. Cooperate with
your people, recognize that you are responsible for the results and if the
results come up one level down, it is your own fault, not theirs.
- Keep your agenda
visible. Your agenda should be your team, your company and
achieving set goals. People do sense when someone has a different or
personal agenda. Don't let this be an issue.
The bottom-line is:
Every time every one of us makes a choice every day to do it right or
not. Let’s make some headway on stamping out bad bosses. What will your
legacy be?
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