This old adage is so true whether applied to recruitment methods, meetings or retaining talent to name but a few areas.
Blog
Have Things Changed as a Leader?
I've just finished a job with a client where I went back into an operational leadership role. In doing so, it's allowed me to reflect on what being a leader means to me.
As Michelle Buck, Clinical Professor of Leadership at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, says; “Leadership is not a title. Leadership is not a position, but rather leadership is a mindset. Leadership is a way of being”.
I wholeheartedly believe in what she says. When everything that's been familiar around us in terms of the "status quo" is thrown into turmoil, it's important to hold onto something. For me, it's my values and purpose and as a leader; doing the right thing, and being human! In these times of constant change and transition, it's important to me that what I bring (and believe I have always brought) is individual adaptive leadership and turning up as my true self. Being human has always been my mantra, and is the ethos of my entire business.
Over the past nine months it's been refreshing to see other leaders “be human”; from children or pets walking in while they're on a Zoom call, to forgetting to unmute and having an amazing conversation with themselves - oh, the number of times I've done this..!
I've always said that the greatest leaders are those who are comfortable that they don’t have all the answers, and that it's OK to learn - pretty much what we've all been doing of late. It's about that open, growth-based mindset - to know it's OK to not know!
As leaders, it's about creating a sense of "psychological safety" for those around you. I had to learn in the unknown; learning with people who were also learning when we didn’t have government guidelines to dictate what the procedures were to bring key workers back into the workplace safely etc. First and foremost, it was about doing the right thing and ensuring that my clients’ employees were safe. Creating that sense of safety was achieved by living by my values of being open and honest, and ensuring that my team felt comfortable enough to speak up. It was also about me sharing when I was struggling and finding things difficult!
As a leader;
Realise that each person in your team is an individual, that they could have lots going on, and that COVID-19 has flung even more at them;
Aspire to be brave - do what it takes to create that sense of safety for people, and;
Do embrace thinking more broadly and creatively. As Buck says; “embrace "both/and" thinking” as opposed to “either/or” thinking!
As Michelle Buck, Clinical Professor of Leadership at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, says; “Leadership is not a title. Leadership is not a position, but rather leadership is a mindset. Leadership is a way of being”.
I wholeheartedly believe in what she says. When everything that's been familiar around us in terms of the "status quo" is thrown into turmoil, it's important to hold onto something. For me, it's my values and purpose and as a leader; doing the right thing, and being human! In these times of constant change and transition, it's important to me that what I bring (and believe I have always brought) is individual adaptive leadership and turning up as my true self. Being human has always been my mantra, and is the ethos of my entire business.
Over the past nine months it's been refreshing to see other leaders “be human”; from children or pets walking in while they're on a Zoom call, to forgetting to unmute and having an amazing conversation with themselves - oh, the number of times I've done this..!
I've always said that the greatest leaders are those who are comfortable that they don’t have all the answers, and that it's OK to learn - pretty much what we've all been doing of late. It's about that open, growth-based mindset - to know it's OK to not know!
As leaders, it's about creating a sense of "psychological safety" for those around you. I had to learn in the unknown; learning with people who were also learning when we didn’t have government guidelines to dictate what the procedures were to bring key workers back into the workplace safely etc. First and foremost, it was about doing the right thing and ensuring that my clients’ employees were safe. Creating that sense of safety was achieved by living by my values of being open and honest, and ensuring that my team felt comfortable enough to speak up. It was also about me sharing when I was struggling and finding things difficult!
As a leader;
Realise that each person in your team is an individual, that they could have lots going on, and that COVID-19 has flung even more at them;
Aspire to be brave - do what it takes to create that sense of safety for people, and;
Do embrace thinking more broadly and creatively. As Buck says; “embrace "both/and" thinking” as opposed to “either/or” thinking!
Blog Posts
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“If you do what you’ve always done; you’ll get what you’ve always got”Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Tuesday, 22nd February 2022 at 11:30am
This old adage is so true whether applied to recruitment methods, meetings or retaining talent to name but a few areas.
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One of the positives of the pandemic is that there is no longer the monopoly on leadership due to position.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Friday, 17th December 2021 at 9:30am
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I have previously written about "Belonging - what does this mean to you?" (http://j-w-c.co.uk/blog-display/293). I want to now build on this and consider it from a team's perspective and what it means if you are a manager leading a team currently.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Wednesday, 8th December 2021 at 8:15am
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Earlier this year, I completed my Mental Health First Aider Training (MHFA) England, something I had wanted to do for a little while.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Friday, 19th November 2021 at 8:15am
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Recently, I was delivering the "First 90 Days in your New Role" for LHH. This is a workshop which generates great discussion around helping people who are still interviewing to find their next appropriate opportunity and to think about how they would answer this question at interview.Posted by Jacqueline Jardine - Tuesday, 21st September 2021 at 3:15pm
