Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
Leadership is an important part of our lives; we are all leaders at some point in our day, whether it as a parent, a sports coach, or even how we drive our cars – remember, every time that our behaviour is on display, we are leading (in one way or another).
More specifically, and in relation to our working lives, and our businesses, leadership is important during those times when we need to change hearts and minds. This usually occurs when the business, or the team, is growing or developing, when new members join, or just when we are going on the journey towards high performance (which all teams should be)!!! In summary, during change processes is where leadership is important.
And, remember that at some stage, we may move on as a leader, and take up a role in another team, or in another business. This is important to consider; I once worked for a leader who always said; ‘don’t apply for a promotion or another role, if you haven’t trained someone to take over your role’. In other words, leadership is important where succession planning is important, and that is any time you are in a role where you are responsible for the outcomes of a team.
Let’s dive deeper …
1. Where Leadership is Important – WHEN YOUR BEHAVIOUR IS ON SHOW
In fact, I can’t really think of a time when our behaviour is not being modelled by someone, somewhere. If you are around other human beings, someone will be watching you, to see what example you are setting in relation to how to behave in that situation.
If you have followed any of my work, you will know that my motto is ‘Leadership is Life’, and I believe that even if we don’t have a formal leadership role, we are all leaders at some stage during every day. Parents really get this one.
Knowing that, you can then be clear on what kind of message you want to send, through the way you behave. If you are clear on what you are trying to achieve (and this will generally be linked to your values), you can behave in that way. And, others will follow!
2. Where Leadership is Important – DURING CHANGE OR GROWTH PROCESSES
So, you are trying to build a high performing team. Or, you are trying to implement a new process, Or, you are trying to grow a business … those times are when leadership is important.
People are looking to you for not only example, but also for advice, for direction, for inspiration and for motivation. They are looking for a vision, a plan, a strategy, a future focus and the confidence that you know everything is going to be ok. Sometimes, your team is just looking for hope; hope for a brighter future.
During these times, it is time to be a strong leader.
3. Where Leadership is Important – SUCCESSION PLANNING
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence” — Sheryl Sanberg, COO of Facebook
In my mind, there are two elements to leadership succession planning, both short and long term. In relation to short term, there will be times when a leader is absent from their team (sick or on leave) for short periods.
The quality of the leader will show up during these periods, as a team that has a good leader will continue to perform well, in the leader’s absence. 2IC’s and other support roles can fill the void, short term, though they need to be well versed in the team values and the processes. Leadership is important to make sure that short term relief leaders are adequately prepared to lead the team for short periods.
Over the longer term is a somewhat different story. Succession planning is a key requirement of every leadership role, as leaders need to be putting processes in place to formally develop, both personally and professionally, the next generation of leader!
A leader who leaves a role without adequate succession planning has failed in their duties, in my humble opinion.
WHERE IS LEADERSHIP IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE OR BUSINESS?
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UPGRADE your Mindset
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