Power vs. Influence

Working for a leader, which do you prefer: a leader who exudes power in order to get you to do your job or a leader who influences you to see the value in yourself and your work? In my experience people want influence over power every time. In today’s fast paced businesses, however, many leaders fall victim to using power and end up creating separation within teams, eroding relationships and ultimately breaking down all forms of trust.  Influencing people as a leader holds so much value and ends up creating a positive workplace culture. 

As a Leader, if you come to the realization that you are hitting the Easy Button, aka, The Power Button not to worry you can make the change. Rather than pointing blame or looking to hold people accountable as a way of authority, try to be curious about what people offer, even when they make mistakes and people do make mistakes!  Also, look for the moments when you can give recognition when people/teams achieve or do something that warrants acknowledgement from you as the Leader. Promote transparency and be critical about ‘what’ went wrong and not ‘who’ did wrong. 

The more self aware you become of the Power Button and start paying attention to ways to encourage and influence, the better relationships you will form with these fine people who come in to do the work everyday.  Influence people to be the best version of themselves and you will be on your way to building great teams and becoming a great Leader who will be remembered in very positive way!

Energy and Relationships... do you know how you show up?

A new year with new opportunities lays ahead for all of us, if we can see the opportunities when they are presented to us. If you don’t notice the doors of opportunity as they open, maybe it’s time to be honest with yourself and really look hard at the energy you’re giving away, as well as the relationships you have with others.

Do you know how you are showing up day in and day out? This term “showing up” seems to be popular in the world of pod casts, social media and other avenues of information and for good reasons. Knowing how you show up (also known as self-awareness) plays a very important part in our work and personal lives in a sense of cultivating how you feel about yourself, how you feel about others and your ability to build relationships.

Self-awareness can be described as “the ability to recognize and understand one’s own emotions”. When we can recognize and lean into our thoughts and emotions we stand a greater chance of forming better relationships, not only with other people but with ourselves. When we get in tune with our self- awareness this will allow us to become more curious and less judgemental of others mainly because we can see our own blind spots and learn how to adjust for a better overall experience.

Energy, is defined as “the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity”. How does this apply to you as well as others? Think about relationship energy - the energy that is created and worked on when forming relationships with other people. Every time we interact with others, we give off a form of energy and this leaves a certain type of impression. That energy can appear in many different forms. Some of these would include, positive or negative, passionate or disinterested, warm or cold, vibrant or dull, passive or assertive, a good experience or possibly a bad experience. If you were to reflect on the energy you give out during interactions, do you know what impression you leave with the other person? Could you be oblivious to this and possibly perceived as a bit of an emotional roller coaster by those around you.

Being more observant of your own emotions and interactions with people will help you to strengthen your ability to form deep and meaningful relationships. Have patience and take the time to expand your own perspective on ‘Energy and Relationships” and watch the doors of opportunity open for you and those around you.

Accountability

In my past workplace accountability always seemed to be this elusive ‘thing’. Today I find many of the  clients I partner with also find ‘it’ a struggle. When speaking about accountability with many different levels of leadership, from the shop floor to the highest level, I seem to get a mixed bag of nuts on how leaders view accountability and how they think they can grow it in their teams. The one thing that is common, no matter where I go, is that all leaders want a culture of accountability within their workplace, they just wrestle with how to make this happen.

I personally screwed this up years ago, when I let my leadership rank and ego be large and in charge.  I tried using a way of authority and discipline to create this thing called accountability and it obviously did not work.  Since then, I have spent countless hours researching and understanding how organizations and teams can create a positive culture that thrives on accountability. I believe there are some simple things that we miss.

The first place to look if you are the leader of a team is in the mirror!  As a leader if you find yourself blaming others for not being accountable and focusing on “who” rather than “what” went wrong then you will struggle! For accountability to grow it must start with you and no one else.  This means leading by example. Now this is an easy catch phrase to toss around, and it may sound good, but upon reflection, are you truly leading by example in all areas of your leadership?

The next thing to consider, is that people want purposeful work and growth within any organization.  If we stifle creativity, and give people the same daily routines, over time they will lose any sort of motivation and the spirit of accountability will grow oh so dim.  Under your care as a leader, it is your responsibility to foster and encourage people’s thoughts and ideas and to look for ways to help foster advancement or growth within a position.

And lastly, people will start to care when they know that you care!  This means becoming a servant leader who lives in humility, always looking for ways to help your team. 

There is no sure-fire way to grow a culture of accountability, like anything good it takes time, patience and a lot of work but there is a huge pay off if you stick with it.