The role of a leader goes far beyond simply directing people to do your bidding- that’s just a boss, not a leader. As a leader, it is essential to understand that to lead a high-performance team, you must perform at a high level. This means excelling at your job and striving to be the best version of yourself in all aspects of life. You have to choose to win in all areas of your life and inspire your team to do the same by seeking their zone of genius. You can’t lead a team if you are struggling in other areas of life.
The role of a leader is more than setting tasks.
Leading a team is more than setting goals and barking orders. There is a common misconception that the role of a leader is to simply direct. However, the true role of a leader is to serve those who follow you. Real leaders lead a team by teaching them how to think through success, helping them, and guiding them to become their best version. The most outstanding leaders are the ones who support their team members to excel at their jobs and inspire them to be the best they can be as individuals.
Leaders create leaders by focusing on internal factors, not external success.
As leaders, it can be easy to get caught up in external measures of success, like key performance indicators. It’s crucial to focus on the internal experience of your team members and to make sure they are feeling fulfilled. It’s helping the people in your organization find and cultivate their zone of genius.
In a lot of organizations, real and clear accountability is often missing. You must have the foundation necessary to be more optimized. That foundation requires creating an environment where the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Provide constructive feedback and support for growth and improvement. You can lead a team anywhere if you can give the right support.
The Importance of Helping Your Team Create and Achieve Goals
Leadership is about more than just achieving one’s own goals; it’s about helping your team reach theirs. If you only focus on your success, you win alone, and no one wants to win alone. But if you help others accomplish their goals and dreams, and align them with your own, then everyone can win.
By working on yourself every single day to become the best version of yourself possible, you can help your team become the best versions of themselves. This means finding out what is important to them and mentoring them to achieve their goals.
A fundamental way to do this is to ask the people around you about their personal and professional goals. What do they want to accomplish? Once you know their specific goals, you can use that information to push them to be the best versions of themselves.
It would help if you made sure to set clear and specific goals that are measurable, achievable, relevant, and have a timeframe. Write them down, share them, and hold each other accountable for achieving them. Schedule time to meet with your team regularly to track everyone’s progress and adjust the goals as needed. And when goals are achieved, celebrate them.
It’s a fact of life that not every employee will successfully achieve their goals. If this happens, important to remember that it’s not always the employee’s fault. As a leader, you are responsible for ensuring you have done everything possible to make that individual successful. This means providing training and support, setting achievable goals, and regularly assessing progress.
The Takeaway: Leaders create leaders by encouraging their zone of genius.
It’s impossible to scale if you are not leading your team correctly. There is a difference between being accessible to your team and having boundaries. Successful leaders are self-aware – they are aware of and own their shortcomings. How can anybody improve unless they get critical feedback on what they are and aren’t doing well? It’s only as hard as you make it.
As a leader, it’s essential to focus on your own goals and on helping your team achieve theirs. This can be done by finding out what’s important to them, mentoring them, setting clear and specific goals, tracking progress, and celebrating successes. By doing this, the team members will achieve their goals, and you, as the leader, and your team will succeed together. Remember, leadership is not just about winning; it’s about winning together.
Ultimately, the role of a leader is to serve, motivate, and inspire, not manipulate. This means leading by example and empowering your team members to take ownership of their own solutions and development. As a leader, knowing that you won’t be able to scale if you believe you have all the answers and are trying to control everything is essential. A leader leads a team by giving them enough information to succeed and enough space to fail. You must leave room for creativity and innovation.
