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Resilient leaders build resilient teams

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Developing as an effective leader involves a consistent commitment to fine-tuning – it isn’t a prescriptive process. As a leader, you have a responsibility to make sure your style is fit for purpose, that you are meeting your mark. Good leadership leads to strong teams, which results in professional resilience; and strong leaders are the supporting pillars of strong organisations.  

As management aims for an even keel, it is even more important to assess your team’s leadership style and regularly refresh to make sure senior leaders are meeting the needs of your people, your industry, and themselves. As the marketplace continues to evolve and reinvent itself, so must industry leaders. Here are three key questions to help you assess and move forward 

What should leaders keep doing? 

Leading a team is like reading a map. You can’t figure out where you are going until you know where you are. So the most important thing a leader should keep doing is evaluating. You can do this in small ways daily by asking yourself questions like, ‘How did I impact others during a meeting or conversation?’ ‘Which projects are working well and why?’ or, ‘when did I feel I was my best self, and what actions did I take at that time?’ A continuous improvement culture underpins effective teams. So if you are constantly self-evaluating, then you are also modeling this good behavior to others.   

What should leaders stop doing? 

It is easy when you elevate to a leadership role to believe you should be a certain person or act a certain way. For example, perhaps you believe a leader is never wrong or doesn’t make mistakes? Perhaps you think that a leader should offer coaching but no longer needs it themselves? There are many mistakes a leader can make, so perhaps the best advice here is to stop making assumptions and base your leadership style on facts. Do you have a loyal team? Have you sought feedback from your reports and acted on it? What does your mentor say? Stop forging ahead blindly, and start reflecting – only then can you make positive change.   

What should leaders start doing? 

There are key things effective leaders do automatically, and it is important to identify which ones are important to your team and learn how to integrate them into your leadership style. You can only really do this once you’ve engaged in that essential practice of self-reflection and fact-finding described above. But the actions of effective leaders do fit into general categories. Start listening to your team. Start prioritising your wellbeing and encourage others to do the same. Start developing relationships. And start a programme of ongoing learning. Whether that is a regular meeting time with your mentor, or signing up teams up for training programmes, to develop a specific area, accepting the need for personal growth is ongoing is a key way to ensure your – and your team’s – leadership style will be successful.  

Responding to crisis. Re-energising organisations. Nurturing people. Today’s leaders shape the future we live and work in. Talk to us to find out how we can help. 

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