British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery said that, “Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” If you desire to have a stronger, more productive organization where your people are achieving desired performance outcomes, you have to stop treating your people as a fundable commodity that you manage as a resource. You must begin to inspire your people, through enhanced individual leader behaviour, to achieve the mutual, beneficial, and meaningful purpose of the organization. No one goes to work to be managed by a boss; people want to be inspired, trusted, and valued by a leader who will emancipate and resource them to achieve the desired objectives of the organization.
Lolly Daskall, writing for Inc. magazine, contrasted key behaviour distinctions with their related outcomes in performance between a boss and a leader:
• A boss drives others; a leader coaches them toward their best performance.
• A boss instills fear; a leader inspires enthusiasm.
• A boss blames others; a leader works to help repair the damage and understand what happened so it won’t occur again.
• A boss thinks in terms of him or herself; a leader thinks in terms of us.
• A boss knows how it’s done; a leader shows how it’s done.
• A boss depends on his or her own authority; a leader depends, along with the entire team, on mutual accountability and trust.
• A boss uses people; a leader is interested in helping them grow and develop.
• A boss takes the credit; a leader gives credit to others.
• A boss is a commander; a leader is more concerned with asking and listening.
• The boss says Go!; the leader says Let’s go!
Understanding the behaviour competencies of each of your team members is essential for you to be able to adjust your own behaviour to gain their commitment and engagement on a personal and emotional level. It is only then, that you can begin to lead.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.