LEADERS REALIZE THAT PRODUCTIVITY AND RESULTS ARE ONLY ONE PART OF THE JOURNEY
Earlier this week I returned from the annual Association for Continuing Legal Education meeting in Montreal, Quebec. I was blessed to have the opportunity to share insights and – I hope – wisdom with attendees from across the U.S. and Canada – and Australia – in a keynote session and a break-out session.
My plenary session was titled “The Essence of Leadership” and my break-out was called “Managing CLE Professionals from a Place of Curiosity.” That first session was a primer on the best leadership tips I’ve accumulated during the past 50 years and the second session was based upon one of my favorite books, “The Coaching Habit” by Michael Bungay Stanier, a world-renowned presenter and coach who resides in Toronto.
In each of these conference sessions, I found myself emphasizing a point no one had taught me when I was a young leader decades ago. Leadership is not just about productivity, outcomes, results or the bottom line.
Please do not misinterpret what I am saying. Those things are very important. For example, even though I worked under the umbrella of a non-profit organization – Georgetown University – for three decades, I knew my Department of Continuing Legal Education needed to meet our projected surplus goal annually or we would face tough questions from the Dean and CFO.
What I AM saying is that for committed and effective leaders, results and outcomes are not the only things to which attention must be paid. Leaders must also pay attention to growth – their own growth and the growth of their team members.
One of my favorite expressions is “We cannot learn to lead other people until we first learn to lead ourselves.” You would be surprised how many leaders skip right over that step. They never make time to truly lead themselves effectively – through:
:
-learning time management,
-prioritization,
-effective communication,
-true role modeling,
-avoiding gossip,
-gaining self-awareness, and
-pausing to integrate lessons along the way –
before they are asked to or tasked with leading other professionals.
I have seen true disasters take place, especially at large law firms, when leaders refuse to or do not make the time to cultivate their self-leadership skills before stepping up and trying to lead groups of people.
To lead other people, we have to make their growth a priority!
The outcomes and results will come when people are led the right way. As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to cultivate the personal and professional growth of every single man and woman we have the privilege to manage or supervise.
As their manager and leader, we can sit down and work with them to identify skills and attributes they must develop and hone to be as effective as possible in their jobs. Then we can identify strategies for them to acquire those skills and attributes. This may include a variety of techniques:
-Sitting down for regular learning sessions focused on their acquiring specific skills
-Having coaching session with us where they come in with questions or we ask questions about what they want to know
-Attending regular meetings where they can learn from more experienced colleagues
-Reading valuable books that help them develop specific skills or adjust mindsets
-Attending professional development conferences where they can network with colleagues from like organizations
-Maintaining a learning journal with which they can document their growth, reflect on their successes and identify future goals
If we are fortunate in our hiring decisions and effective in our own mentoring, we can work with those people we manage and help them grow their own leadership skills.
I can tell you from personal experience that there is nothing more rewarding than watching people you have mentored and managed fly out of the nest and become leaders themselves at other great organizations.
Of course results and productivity created by our teammates is important, but please keep in mind that their growth as human beings and professionals is equally important. We are privileged to help them on their unique journeys and it is our responsibility to teach them, to mentor them, and to role model for them.
If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along!
-Larry