On multiple occasions in my leadership development work I’ve been approached by a manager or supervisor who felt compelled to share with me a personal evaluation of his or her own leadership abilities.
“Phil, you might be interested to know that I’m a pretty good leader if I do say so myself.”
It’s nothing personal, but I’m really not all that interested in what you – the leader — would say of your own leadership prowess and accomplishments. And neither should you be. On the other hand, I’m very interested in what your followers would say about your leadership abilities. And you should be too.
What Would Your Followers Say about Your Leadership Abilities?
So here’s something to consider. If given one word to describe you, what would your followers say about your leadership abilities? Maybe it would be something like sincere, trustworthy, respected or consistent. Or is it possible that they would describe you with words like dictator, clueless, selfish, or…well, I’ll stop there since this a G-rated publication.
In Chapter 4 of my latest book, Leaders Ought to Know: 11 Ground Rules for Common Sense Leadership, I point out that “leaders don’t plan to be disrespected; leaders practice universal principles that earn respect.”
The fact is this: Followers choose to think of and describe their leader based on how they observe you speak, behave and perform day in and day out. Only through your consistent commitment to solid leadership behaviors can you earn the respect of your followers and be assured their evaluation of you is consistent with what a good leader ought to be.
What Would Your Followers Say? – LinkedIn Discussion Group
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Phillip Van Hooser
Leadership Expert, Keynote Speaker, Author – Leaders Ought to Know: 11 Ground Rules for Common Sense Leadership
Love it. It doesn’t matter if you consider yourself a leader or not. To be a leader, the one thing you MUST have are followers. It’s their perception of your leadership abilities that really counts. A leader in title only is not a leader in my book. The words, backed up by appropriate actions, on a consistent basis for the greater good are the measure of a leader.
Keep this great information coming,
Kristina
Thanks so much for sharing your insights. As you say, followers’ perception of our leadership abilities is all that really matters — perception IS reality! — Phil