Being a Leader
An essential part of being a leader should be sharing. Share with the people that you work with what makes you tick, what motivates you, and what irritates you. Consider sharing any other pieces about you that help them to be able to work best for you and with you.
As one leader put it, sharing ‘What’s on my page’; he wrote ‘his page’ about himself and shared it one-to-one with his direct reports. He was, therefore, transparent about how they could do the very best job for him. Much better than letting them guess and find out over time through mistakes and gossip.
Being a good leader requires transparency to build solid working relationships. On that note, here’s what’s on my page:
What is My Ambition?
To own and run a company that is successful, that I am proud to call mine and employs people that are fantastic at what they do, love what they do and are recognised by others as very successful.
What Do I Like to See in People?
People being ‘very professional’, which to me means going the extra mile for clients and in pieces of work that they do, being determined to get something done well, having explored the challenge thoroughly and working on the business, as well as in the business.
What are My Strengths?
I believe that they are determination, big picture thinking and creativity. Determination to achieve where others have failed. The ability to see the whole picture and the future of that big picture. Creative thinking, which is why I like Edward De Bono’s work so much.
What are My Weaknesses?
An inability to work with people that are very high in self-orientation, cannot listen and where we have a lack of trust. And I fully accept that neither of us is wrong, it’s just that trust was never meant to exist between us. Planning is something I do in a very low gear and I have learnt that by working with others that are great at planning, I am happy for them to lead and be to be led.
Favourite Inspirational Quotes:
‘If you think you can, or think you can’t, you are absolutely right’, Henry Ford.
This quote helps me remember that a positive mental attitude can win through the most difficult of situations. I have been a member of Mindstore for over 15 years and Jack Black has helped me understand the power of thinking positively.
‘You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks’, by Winston Churchill.
I love this quote because it reminds me that as you think differently they’ll always be those that sit on the sidelines, watch and criticise.
‘For this rollercoaster of life, you have one ticket, enjoy’, by me.
Whilst not as inspirational as great men like Ford and Churchill, this quote helps me to know that whilst life can be tough, you only have one, so make the very most of it. So, create fantastic memories.
What Motivates Me?
- Receiving praise for a great idea and particularly one that was successful.
- Being strong and determined, particularly where others have failed.
- Thinking differently and winning by thinking differently.
What Irritates Me?
- People not meeting deadlines or not being punctual.
- Hearing, ‘It can’t be done’.
- People around me having poor time management, which means using me as their p.a. because their system is too poor to remind themselves.
- A lack of determination by people to solve a problem or think through a piece of work to arrive at a recommended answer.
- People immediately dismissing an idea, although they do not have an idea, or a better one, themselves.
- Not listening and interrupting from people with high self-orientation.
- People wanting feedback and then telling me that it is wrong.
What Is My Profile?
HBDI to Know My Preferred Thinking Style:
I am a yellow first, followed by blue, with green and red being low on my Herrmann profile.
This means that my strengths are big picture & future thinking, with a good level of facts required. Though my ability to plan and bring people with me is in the conscious incompetence box. I know when I am doing it wrong and it takes me more energy to get it right, but I can. Under pressure, my profile stays largely the same.
Learning Styles:
My strong preference in learning styles is a reflector. I know that I need time to think through something new. A key part of being a leader with this learning style is adopting strategies to buy time before responding instantly. Though, you may hear me saying something like, ‘My instinctive response is this… and my reflective thoughts might be different and will be with you tomorrow’. On occasion, similar to most ‘boys with toys’ I can become an activist, like when I got my last iPhone!
FIRO-B to Understand How I Can Work With Others Better:
The 3 elements of FIRO-B are Inclusion, Control and Affection. For me the commentary went as follows:
- Inclusion; ‘You have a strong preference for being involved in social situations most of the time’.
- Control; ‘You tend to prefer structured situations in which there are clear lines of authority and responsibility’.
- Affection; ‘You tend to keep things impersonal and prefer more formal businesslike relationships’.
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument:
My scores on TKI for the 5 conflict modes were; Collaborating – 95%, Competing – 79%, Accommodating – 30%, Avoiding – 22%, and Compromising 15%. For me, this means that I need to be careful that my collaborative style is not taken advantage of in competitive situations and that in collaborative situations I do not allow my competing to take-over.
Belbin to Know How I Work in a Team:
My preferred role in Belbin is as a ‘Plant’. Creative, imaginative, unorthodox and able to solve difficult problems. Whilst the weaknesses of the ‘Plant’ role is being too pre-occupied with my own thoughts to communicate effectively.
Drivers to Understand What Drives Me:
My key driver is ‘Be Strong’ which is where my determination is derived from and is my strength, yet with all such powerful allies, they can be your enemy too when they inhibit you asking for help, which is my weakness.
Myers-Briggs:
I am an ‘ENTP’, borderline I/E, which means:
Energetic, witty, original, wanting to be where the action is but on their own terms. May need to be aware of unintentionally bruising the feelings of others through their love of argument and of having the last word. Work is play and play is work. Communicates by thinking out loud; discussion and debate are prime tools; confident, a racy performer in public; may not be so good at listening and may interrupt unwisely.
- As a parent: Contributes unpredictability and fun; teaches children the importance of self-sufficiency and learning.
- Seen by others: As articulate, funny, forceful, can be abrasive and competitive.
- Sees self: As ruthlessly honest; always ready to mock own absurdities.
- Works best: With intelligent people willing to have a go; with other experts in their field who need little day to day direction.
- Works least well: With people who like the traditional ways of doing things or who need to have everything spelt out and be shown what to do.
- Leads by: Challenging conventional wisdom; believing that the impossible is within reach; persuading, cajoling; ignoring ‘silly’ bureaucratic rules; being generous with praise for good work; assuming they are merely first among equals. Needs the support of others to cope with practical detail.
Fun ENTP Facts:
How many ENTPs does it take to change a light bulb? One, but only after tightening, wiggling, shaking, testing, etc to make sure it’s not something else.
ENTP: Why did the chicken cross the road? Imagine if chickens continually keep crossing the road. It could be used as a renewable power source!
Being a Leader Summary
‘Being a Leader, Being Transparent about You’ is about helping the people around you to understand you so that they can work better with you and for you, enabling the business to be more successful through working together faster, simpler and better.A big thank you from me for taking the time to read this post and for sharing because 62% of people also shared. If you have a question about Soft Skills training please contact me.
