Too often, leaders believe that the business cannot function without them and that they must make all the decisions.
The best leaders, though, are those that also know how to follow, as the longest-serving Speaker of the US House of Representatives and 24-term congressman, Sam Rayburn said.
By this, I don’t mean following some higher authority in the business (perhaps a group-level CEO) but recognising that other members of their team will have more expertise in areas and that they need to follow their lead and learn what they can teach them.
The best leaders recognise the need to take time out from the business – which is why many companies and even countries mandate at least one period of no less than two consecutive weeks of leave every year. Yes, the business may perform (a little) better when the leader is present, but it has to be able to operate effectively without them too, and for others to learn the ropes as part of their development and succession planning.
The best leaders understand that they need people to question them – different perspectives of a problem or opportunity might provide some even better answers – and are prepared to learn from these questions as a part of their own personal development.
The best leaders ask their team members what they need from them, as leaders, in order that they can perform even better.
What’s clear is that the best leaders are those that understand they do not, and will never, have all the answers and that their role one of coordination and development.
The links between the profits and leadership are clear as this research shows: the bottom 10% of leaders lost money in their businesses, good leaders made a (reasonable) profit and the best leaders (the top 10%) returned profits that were, on average, double those of the good leaders. It really comes down to company culture and leadership.
Is your business returning the profits it should?
#BusinessFitness #Business #Attitude #CEO #Culture #Leadership #Loyalty #People #Profitability #Teams #QOTW
Some other posts on leadership:
- “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs
- 6 Leadership Development Issues CEOs Often Overlook
- How Many of These 7 Leadership Questions Can You Say Yes To?
- “Happy employees lead to happy customers, which leads to more profits.” — Vaughn Aust
- The Best Leaders Will Do This In 2022
- 1 Thing That Great Leaders Do
- Are Staff Leaving Because of Bad Management?
- Forbes Article: Why Every Leader Should Lead At Following