What It Takes to Show Up Like a LEADER

In my book, Strategize to Win, I talk about a leader, around the letters in the word “leader.” So the first is the “L.” And if you are a powerful leader, you learn how to leverage other people’s intellect. There’s no monopoly on intelligence. You will not always have the best idea or the right idea. And if you want to get to the best idea, you have to create an environment where people — the folks that are working with you — want to give you their best thinking. Sometimes they might have an idea or an answer. Sometimes it’s just the process of talking about it that will create an outcome that will be superior to anything that you were thinking about. That’s leveraging other people’s intellect. But you, as the leader, are uniquely qualified to create a culture where people want to contribute their best ideas. They must know that you value their ideas. They must know that you value their “try,” even if it’s not the answer that you’re going to go to.

The “E” is around engagement. Gone are the days that you can have a white ivory tower experience as a leader if you want to get to the best outcomes. We’re all looking to maximize revenue and profitability and minimize expenses and get to market quickly and be as efficient as possible. And you will not be able to do that if you’re not engaging with your people. People want to be seen. You must demonstrate that you see them. People want to be heard. You must demonstrate that you heard them. You might already know what you want the team to do, but now you want to engage with them and say, “How are you guys thinking about this? What do you think we should say to the client?” The more you engage your team and solicit their voices, the more they come ready to deliver their voices because they know you’re looking for great ideas. They know you want their engagement.

The “A” is all around authenticity. You have to show up as an authentic leader. Why is it so important that you show up as an authentic leader? Because then you motivate and inspire those who are working with you to bring their authentic selves into that environment. And when any of us can be in an environment where we can be who we really are, we always outperform. And that will now accrue to your status in that leadership seat.

The “D” is around being decisive. In a volatile, uncertain world, there are so many things that we’re all focused on and so many things that we are confronted with on a daily basis. The last thing that people want is to follow someone who cannot make a decision. So even if you are in a situation where you have incomplete information, you must be decisive. Even if you have to retreat or pivot or change the answer, say, “Oh, boy. That was wrong. Let’s now do this.” That’s a very powerful moment with your people. To say, “We had information. We made the best decision we could at that point, but it’s wrong. So let’s pivot and let’s move forward.”

The “E” is about excitement. As a leader, you have the responsibility to show up in a “I’m all in today” kind of mood, no matter what mood you might really be feeling because your people are taking their cues from you. And especially if you are in an environment where there are tough decisions that have to be made, there are few resources that you have access to, you still have to be excited about what you all are going to deliver. And if it’s something that people view as rote or boring, you have to be that much more excited about it, getting it over with so that you can then now move to something that could be more interesting or sexier to them at the end of the day.

And the “R” is about relationships. You can’t do it alone. You can’t do it alone. If you want to be a powerful and effective leader, you have to have relationships. Somebody on your team has the idea or the access that will allow you to be successful no matter what your endeavor might be. Which means it is critical for you to have relationships with your people. So they want to give you their best thinking, they want to allow you to leverage their previous experience, and they want to let you into their network to have access to their relationships.

Now I have a lot of leaders that say to me, “Well, you know, really, I’m more of an introvert than I am an extrovert.” I don’t care whether you would coin yourself an introvert or an extrovert. Everybody can learn how to be curious. Everybody can learn how to engage more easily with people.