Over my years of service to my Realtor community and my fellow citizens as a County Commissioner, I have seen different types of leadership styles.
One of those styles is to defer any decision to the paid management of the organization and simply serve for the glory and notoriety of the title. To do ribbon cuttings, give ceremonial speeches and work the banquet scene. I have seen this type of leadership and I am no fan of it. It neither inspires nor motivates those who are under this leader and few folks respond to this type of leadership. A lot of eyes start rolling and heavy sighing can be heard as that person ascends to the podium to deliver prepared remarks often written by a staff member.
The next type of leader wants everyone to know they are large and in charge and like the spotlight. I referenced this person in my previous blog “the loudest one in the room is often the weakest”. They love advancing their way to the microphone to make sure everyone knows how smart they think they are. There is a time for the leader to be bold, boisterous and scream a little, however, I have never responded well to being yelled at.
The third type of leader is one who leads in the present. They lead by example. They let their folks know what the expectations and goals are and the objectives and strategies to obtain those goals and expectations. They work in the present to help their people out, to find solutions and to reach the goals of their organization. Sometimes that means being firm with their team, sometimes it means lending a sympathetic shoulder.
But leading in the present adds credibility to the leader because their folks know their leader is with them shoulder to shoulder in real-time, working to achieve common goals for their organization. The leader knows what their team is going through both professionally and personally. This is important because your team is made up of individuals with different personalities, and talents and motivations.
So in my mind, I have always tried to be that leader in the present and not “just phone it in”. It works for my personality and my style and seems to have worked for the organizations I have led.
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