I was given a book many years ago, “Play to your strengths.” I mention this because some of the the ideas I’m sharing are not original, but nonetheless important. There’s a tendency for professionals to think that they must be great at everything. Leaders believe they should be the smartest ones in the room (even if they’re not in the room). Authority and respect are not derived from the breadth of your knowledge or the acumen you display at unrelated tasks. If you are the VP of Sales, your leadership is not compromised because you can’t program in Python.
There is a simple formula for building a high-performance team and earning the respect of its members:
Self-awareness + humility + honesty + authenticity + gratitude = Success.
First, know where you excel, where you are solid, and where you are weak. Be honest with yourself and own it. If you lack skills that are essential for you to perform your job well, you need to build competence in those areas, but you do not need to become an expert. You certainly should not waste time and effort improving skills that are not critical to your primary job functions.
"A team is not a group of people who work together. It's a group of people who trust each other." - Simon Sinek
Add people to your team who complement your strengths or who love to do the things you don’t. You can be unapologetic and honest about it. Admitting to subordinates that you are not good at something is empowering for you and them. Yes, vulnerability shows power and strength and simultaneously demonstrates appreciation for the contribution of others. Surround yourself with smart, talented people and let them know how much you respect and appreciate them.
Always approach situations with curiosity rather than judgement. Don’t assume that someone forgot, doesn’t know, is incompetent, or insubordinate. There may be very good reasons that someone took a particular action or decided not to act. A little humility goes a long way. No one has a monopoly on good ideas. Inspiration or a better solution can come from anyone. You want to create a culture of curiosity, humility, and openness to get the best out of people.
"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
Trust is the number one trait employees look for and appreciate in a boss. Be honest. Sometimes tough love is difficult to give, but you must. Sometimes you make a mistake or things don’t turn out the way you planned. Over communicate, be transparent, keep promises, be truthful.
Be yourself. Don’t be a version of a boss you saw on TV. You don’t have to be just like your mentor or what you read in a book. There’s no right way to be. If you are trying to be something you’re not, people will not trust you. It’s ok to be awkward. It’s ok to be funny. It’s ok to be friendly (but not familiar). It’s not ok be performative or “act” like you think others expect you to.
Remember to play to your strengths. You are enough and you bring value. You don’t need people to think you know everything, you just need them to trust you.
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