Willing Leaders vs Wilting Leaders
America is an in-progress case study in leadership.
Unbeknownst to most leaders, their styles land them in one of two categories:
1) Willing Leaders
2) Wilting Leaders
Willing Leadership leads to experimentation, action, and team confidence.
Wilting Leadership leads to low morale, confusion, paralysis, and attrition.
Pending on where you land, each perpetuates itself.
Wilting Leaders are often “know-it-alls” who wilt possibility.
Willing Leaders create space for buy-in, belief, and change.
No one said you needed a “C” at the beginning of your title to be a willing leader. If you are responsible for managing a team, especially, during a crisis, perhaps the below 4 L’s can help:
Listen. Give yourself permission to admit you don’t have all the answers. Create virtual arenas and psychologically safe spaces to work through solutions with your teams.
Learn. Repeat back to your team what you’re learning. This is a good time to make sure nothing is lost in translation. Make sure they know you’re invested in these conversations. Don’t be afraid to make a call in the moment off of what you’re hearing.
Love. It’s a hard time for all. Remember the laws of attraction. If you’re a from-the-heart leader the right people in your organization will feel that and mirror that behavior. Show the love. Share the love. And, when appropriate, administer tough love. Just because you love doesn’t mean you need to agree on everything.
Lead. The best leaders take everything they’ve learned from the first 3L’s, run it through the filter of their values, and come out the other side ready to take calculated action.
There’s another ‘L’ we don’t discuss out loud in leadership: Loneliness. This is the outcome of Wilting Leadership.
To review…
This is the time to listen, learn, love and lead.
Wilting Leadership creates lonely, one-way streets.
Willing Leadership follows through on the 4L’s.
