Leadership

I missed out on an internal eadership course at work, but got the chance to browse the course materials quickly.

I'm missing a lot of the context, but thought I might note some of the salient points.

Management is a work activity, but leadership is choice.  It's a lens, if you will, something you need to pay attention to.

Do I have leadership credibility?  What's my track record for:
making tough decisions
dealing with performance issues
influencing others

I'd say that I have a lot more miles to go before I can call myself a strong leader.  I've got a few notches in my belt, but not enough to give me credibility.

Creditibility derailers.  There are many that affect leadership outcomes (e.g. our ability to build teams, meet objectives, influence others).  Mine are short-sightedness, risk aversion, conflict avoidance, over and under managing, emotional incompetence.  Need to work on these.  But how?

Resilience (getting back up when you've fallen, learning from the experience and moving forward) this is key.  I've had a lot handed to me in my career so there hasn't been much opportunity to test my resilience.  But in my personal life, I'm plenty resilient.  Everyday I act with resolve.

Last point is on consciousness.  I'm aware, but am I taking deliberate steps to strengthen my leadership?  Afterall, "we become what we think about".

Sage Advice

 

A while ago, I was didn't know how to handle an employee leave issue and sought the advice of another manager.  I wanted to keep this advice as a reference, because it's absolutely stellar:

I appreciate that this needs to be handled carefully. The implications can last a while and can affect other members of the team.

I would tell the employee that I was having trouble finding the appropriate clause in the collective agreement for the situation (day-care).

If the person gives you a reasonable match, and YOU think you could defend it to the rest of the team and to an auditor, then accept it.

If the person cannot give you a good match, then take the position of "As your supervisor, I'm here to help you get through this problem. :) What are our alternatives?". (Annual leave, flexible work arrangement like telework or irregular hours, etc).

Try not to let yourself get painted into a corner of being the police, or having to approve "inappropriate" use of the collective agreement.

In other words, try to stay out of a win-lose situation. Maybe there is more information available from the employee that would make things easier. (Does the child have a bad cold or something? Hint, hint)

The potential for get into a lose-lose situation is pretty high, and it's only a couple of days. To me it's an opportunity to purchase some good will for when that call comes from the Minister's office at 4 PM on a Friday.

This is a good reminder -- stay out of a win-lose situation.  So much to learn here.