Leadership is about people. You manage things, but you lead people.
As a leader, whatever you do is a message to your people. If you want your people to follow you, to do what you want them to do, you must treat them with respect. You must value them for who they are, not for what they can do for you.
Be there for them. Do not be against them. Lift your people up, not down. Speak with them, not to them. Show them what is possible. Do not discourage them. If they are interested in something, make it happen for them. If you see them struggling with something, step in.
Instead of criticizing them, praise them. Because you are not going to be able to lead people if you do not like them. Think about it. Can you love what you hate? I do not think so.
As a leader, your people are watching you. Your actions are powerful. Your actions can change their lives. Your words can change their lives. They can change how they feel about themselves. Your actions guide what they do.
If you do not do what you say you are going to do, your people won’t take you seriously. If you want your people to bring their best selves to work, you must be there for them. Let your words make sense. Do not just talk.
If you want your people to support you, you must support your talk with actions. Doing something is better than just talking about doing it. Doing is attractive. Productive leaders follow other productive leaders. That is how they get things done.
As a leader, when you support your people, when you are there for your people, new beings are created. New beings are born again. The opposite is also true. When you don’t respect your people, when you don’t value your people, when you are after what they can do for you, you are not helping them; you are hurting them. You are not lifting them up; you are bringing them down.
Don’t go there. That is not what great leaders do. Great leaders listen to their people. So if you want your people to follow you, you must listen to them. Do we have a deal?
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