Building a great team is job number one for a leader.
Who you are has everything to do with it. You are the common denominator in your relationships with Daniel, Suzanne, Rocky, Javier and the (28) other people on your team.
Love and intention behind your actions
There’s what you do, and there’s how you do it. An organization can do everything “right” but have a hollow culture. When leaders really care about the team, and the team really cares about each other, magic can happen – relatively speaking. It can be the difference between –
Being successful and happy……………………. Being unsuccessful and unhappy
People being authentic……………………………. People being guarded
People smiling………………………………………….. People being miserable
People giving their all ……………………………… People giving just enough
People staying and getting even better….. People leaving
Growth …………………………………………………….. Stagnation
Success ………………………………………………….. Failure
Intention matters. You can show that people are most important by showing a limit to what you’re willing to do in pursuit of getting tasks completed and goals achieved.
When you ask them to do better, you should show that how they feel is more important. You are not willing to overtly make them feel bad about themselves just to improve their performance and make you feel better about yourself. Your criticism is very subtle. People know what and how they are doing. It doesn’t take much from you to let them know they could do better. You carefully let them know what you are thinking about their performance and quickly move to how much you believe in them and what you’ll do to help them be better. You ask questions of them and listen. You give them a way out of feeling substandard, and never lock them into it. You make them believe they can do more even if they have never done it before.
People will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
Rosemary is an exceptional leader who truly loves and cares about those who she leads. She is about the person and not the position. She wants to see us all succeed together and works hard so no one is left behind. She is always genuine with you, even if it means it comes out with strong emotion, because she cares passionately. I am grateful to work together!
Congratulations on Dakar! That must have been one hell of a ride and the experiences like no other. Survival is a great way to put it.