Leadership Style
Spencer, WHY am I staring at fish?! One of the biggest organizational challenges to achieve great outcomes is to motivate teams of people to swim in the same direction.
One of my greatest strengths is the leadership philosophy I live by to motivate organizations, drive alignment, and achieve more as a team than we ever could individually. My leadership style is based on four foundational principles that have contributed to my success in building world-class teams and coaching the next generation of leaders.
Develop, Don't Deter
Work is not just about what the organization gets but what it can give back to their teams. I seek to understand team member strengths along with their aspirations. Open, frequent, and honest conversations around development break us away from the tactical and focus on the bigger picture.
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Making the effort to make development a regular part of conversations with team members and assuring I never stand in their way is key to growing more leaders.
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Let People Know How They Are Doing
Kim Scott's book on radical candor opened my eyes on how to lead with empathy. I believe in first figuring out what I specifically expect of each team member and then being direct when there are opportunities for improvement.
This isn't just identifying gaps, but identifying potential for team members to contribute more to the organization's mission.
Celebrate Success
One of the biggest problems I see in many leaders is they tend to be "vulture leaders." They circle around over their teams and only come around when something goes wrong. This disengages and demotivates teams who feel they are only doing something wrong.
I take the "well done" approach by celebrating when team members are doing things right or demonstrating outstanding performance. The key is understanding how team members like to be rewarded and finding unique ways to make teams feel valued.
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Tell People in Advance About Change
"Everybody wants change but nobody wants to have to change," I'm sure is a meme circling around offices. What I've found is that people do want change but they often struggle to understand why the change is happening and their role in it.
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Leading with WHY helps team members accept the change and builds trust that they aren't being kept in the dark.
What I'm Reading
Leaders never stop learning, here is what I've been diving into recently.
