In good times and more challenging times, leaders have to stand for something. Here are the four commitments a leader needs to make to and for themselves and to the people they are responsible for.
To Learn
The leader must be open, willing and ready to become better. This is done by becoming a better leader by growing, by being open to new ideas and concepts, to being coachable by others. Someone who has a closed mind, who believes that they know all there is to know, is not a leader that is going to take any organization far. Being in charge and being a growth oriented person does not stop at the person at the top. The responsibility of leadership means that the person at the top should be requiring the same commitment of growth from their direct reports. If those reporting to the top executive aren’t interesting in growing, what kind of message are those people sending to the people in their departments or divisions?
To Lead
The wisest leaders understand that they would never ask their subordinates to do something that they would not be willing to do themselves.
In the movie “Saving Private Ryan” Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks, earned and kept the respect of his men because he landed with them on Omaha Beach. Later, when challenged by his squad about the rationale for a mission to save the last remaining son of Mrs. Ryan, Miller used the goodwill he had earned to keep the mission on track.
But the commitment to lead must be more than that. The leader must be willing to lead from the front. While Saving Private Ryan is fictional, contrast Captain Miller’s approach to General MacArthur’s approach in Korea. MacArthur never spent the night on the Korean Peninsula, returning to his own bed in Tokyo or sleeping on board a ship during the invasion at Inchon. The soldiers that fought under his command knew this and as a result, many did not respect him. You can read more about this in David Halberstam’s final book “The Coldest Winter” (I highly recommend this book).
To Envision
People who work in organization want to know “where are we headed, what is our goal” and it is the responsibility of the leader to determine the goal and to regularly communicate it. The leader who fails to create a vision is doing a disservice to self and to those that work in the organization. If there is no goal, what is the future? Why toil to uncertainty except a paycheck. People want to work towards something and for something that is bigger than themselves and the leader must provide it.
To Communicate
The leader cannot hide behind the desk, in the office in isolation. Those that lead must not only be visible, but must communicate to those that they lead. Chief among the responsibilities to is to ask what people think. The leader is often the most removed from clients, suppliers and employees and so seeking opinions is critical to learning. Website Reports
Tied to that is listening with intentionality to what is being said. Many leaders hear but they don’t listen. Leaders must actively listen, seeking first to understand, then be understood.
There is a quote that serves leaders well: “People should know what you stand for. They should also know what you won’t stand for.” That is what making a commitment is about.
What do you stand for? And how well have you communicated what you stand for?
