Episode 26: The 4 effective behaviours separating successful leaders from average ones
Welcome to the SPS Podcast:
Episode 26: The 4 Effective Behaviours Separating Successful Leaders From Average Ones
A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
Lao Tzu.
I have a question for you 1st…
Do you want to improve how you lead?
Yes, good.
I want to take you through a 4-step process that I created after working in leadership roles for 15+ years; you can use it in any work or project situation to help you become a better leader in your business.
The process I am about to set out can also create benefits outside of work in your day-to-day life, so read to the end to see how.
What is this process?
Well, it’s called S.I.M.S.
- Simplify
- Inspire
- Move
- Support
Before we dive into these, I want to share a quote that exemplifies what leadership is.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader”
John Quincy Adams.
This quote doesn’t portray leadership as leading or giving directions; it’s about taking action in your own life.
It’s your actions and what you do that make you a leader.
Anytime you enter a new work environment, you want to use S.I.M.S. (which I realize is the name of a PC game), life is a game, and if you can use different models, acronyms, and methods to be a better leader, I am all for it.
Let’s dive into the components.
1) Simplify:
“If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself”
Albert Einstein.
Leaders in corporate settings and the entrepreneurial world need to learn this number one activity.
Simplify the directions you give to the people above, below, and around you.
There are only ever really three-five vital activities that are moving your business forward.
If you use the Pietro Principle, the 80/20 philosophy, you will find that 20% of your activities give you 80% of your results.
The goal is to then simply what you focus on so you can drop or reduce the effort in the rest.
You may think, no way, I’ve got so many things to do, but when you boil it down, most of those activities you or your team are doing aren’t affecting your results, revenue, or growth.
Do you ever finish a day or week and can’t remember what you did?
The reason for this is that you spent your week doing low-value busy work, shallow work that is easily forgettable and has no impact.
You should focus on the key drivers and then simplify, simplify, simplify so that everyone understands what they need to do.
2) Inspire:
“There are only two ways to influence human behaviour: you can manipulate it, or you can inspire it.”
Simon Sinek.
You may have heard of Simon Sinek; he’s a managerial expert and has written several books on the subject.
His lessons can apply to both corporate and entrepreneurial environments.
This quote illuminates a couple of things: you don’t manipulate or force people to do something, and you don’t manage people and processes.
You inspire people to work.
Managers manage people; leaders inspire people.
Leaders motivate people by giving them a vision and taking them on a journey.
They help their people grow, helping them transform and then transcend the role they hold.
If most of your people are not moving on to something bigger and better in their lives, professionally or personally, can you call yourself their leader?
When looking after a team or a process, many managers focus too narrowly on data and forget about the people.
If you can help inspire people, you will get the work done and make it enjoyable while you’re doing it.
Once you have simplified your message, you want to inspire people by creating a vision that motivates them.
You want to motivate them to not only do the work but to get better and eventually leave their role for something more challenging, more lucrative, or follow a passionate pursuit.
3) Move
“Don’t tell people how to do things; tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”
George S. Patton.
M is for Move out of the way.
Give your team instructions, and then let them do the work.
I can’t even count how many managers ( I don’t use the word leader here) I have worked under or have seen give directions and then constantly follow up and remain hyper-involved in the process, effectively micromanaging.
Micromanaging is the curse of modern-day leadership.
Managers get involved because they think they can do it better or because an employee doesn’t have the skills, knowledge, or ability to do it the way they want it done.
So they do it themselves.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the overloading manager:
They give you a project or a task, and then when something else comes down the pipeline, they don’t know how to simplify, so they pile it on to you instead of evaluating what needs to be done and when.
They constantly create bottlenecks with poor workflow, another curse of modern-day leadership.
When an employee is overloaded, they are much less likely to complete any project in the manner necessary.
Sick days, more extended lunches, and a negative culture will grow like a disease; people will start leaving for greener pastures.
When you give your team activities to do, you’ve got to move out of the way.
I know this can be especially hard for entrepreneurs and leaders who used to be subject matter experts, but you must let your team do the work.
If they fail, they will learn.
If you do the work, you will continue always to have to do the work.
You become the constraint for the growth of your team and business.
4) Support
“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better”
Jim Rohn.
Support your team and support your partners when they need you.
Don’t over-support them, and don’t undersupport them.
Often, managers can get bogged down, focusing on the underperformers and even ignoring their high performers.
Higher performers can then end up feeling neglected, and underperformers feel micromanaged.
You know they talk on their lunch breaks and outside of working hours?
Acting like this unbalances your team.
Even if you do everything else, simplify, inspire, and move out of the way, you can still fail because you must also support your staff mentally and emotionally when needed.
Bening there for them in the right way is how they will remember you.
It’s also why they will work longer and stand beside you in pressure moments.
One of the best models to help you understand this concept is Situational Leadership:
Also, being supportive is much more than having an open-door policy.
Sitting behind your big desk with two large monitors and no direct eye line shows your team your door might be open, but you don’t want them in your office.
Make it easy for them to speak to you when they need it while projecting your time.
It is a delicate balance.
But you have to get out there and show that you are available.
Seek people out, take them for coffee, organize fun activities, and make people feel good about being at work.
By making your team and work partners feel comfortable, you are increasing their autonomy, allowing them to focus better on their work, and creating the opportunity for mastering their craft.
You are preparing them to move on and up, perhaps even to replace you when you move on, and that gives them purpose because they see a future in the organization.
This way, they can set goals and work towards those goals when they are supported.
Quick Bonus Ideas: Using S.I.M.S. in your life:
“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
Sir Edmund Hillary
Simplify: Simplify your life as much as you can. Do not take on too much; focus on three to five activities or habits you want to work on.
Inspire: Inspire yourself. Read good books, listen to podcasts, and avoid consuming too much “junk” media.
Move: Move out of your own way. You are often the block to your own success. You will talk yourself out of many ideas before starting to work on them. Just do it.
Support: Support yourself, look after yourself, eat healthily, sleep well, exercise, and reduce negative self-talk.
I hope you find S.I.M.S. useful.
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Big love.
Make it a great one,
Stephen
