Kouzes and Posner have
recently released a new edition of their outstanding work, The Leadership Challenge.
Now in its sixth edition, the authors continue to explore and define what
constitutes exemplary leadership behaviors. One of their factors that continues
to hold relevance is that leaders Encourage
the Heart. This got me thinking out loud about the important role leaders
play in how they encourage their teams and how we can sometimes get it wrong!
Now don’t get me wrong, I love
encouraging others! In fact, Mary Kay Ashford, founder of Mary Kay cosmetics, stated
“people wear an invisible sign around their necks that reads, make me feel
important!”. That’s poppin’ right?!?! I try to look for that sign in just about
every interaction I have. We live in a very cynical world that offers
impossible comparisons so it is critical that we lift up others where and when
we can. The only problem, however, is that I believe that as leaders we often
encourage the wrong body part!
Far too often our
encouragement does more to inflate the head versus the heart. The danger in
doing so is that such head-focused encouragement gives people an inflated or
inaccurate perception of their abilities and talents. Instead, we should be
encouraging the heart. Motivating others to strive to do and be more versus
leaving the impression that they have somehow “arrived” and need no further
improvement. Nothing can be further from the truth. We should and need to be
constantly improving but most of our encouragement tells people that they are
great just as they are with no need to go further. I swear if I thought I could
get away with it, I would create a keynote entitled “Life’s Not Fair, You’re Not as
Good as You Think You Are, and No One Pays for Average” (now you know
why I am more of a trainer than a speaker - not the most encouraging of topics!!).
The body part we should be
encouraging is the heart. Here the focus is on motivating others versus telling
others. So, what’s the difference and how should we do this more effectively?
- Focus on Potential over Past Performance
- Highlight people’s Character more than their Knowledge
- Inquire as to where people are GOING versus where they have BEEN
- Identify effective Behaviors as opposed to Possessions
Dr. Posner offered a great
supervisor/coaching question during a recent webinar sponsored by Flashpoint
Leadership that captures this heart over head paradigm: “What have you done
this week that has make you more powerful, able, and happy than you were last
week?” The implication is that the team member IS capable of more but that their
continued growth is important. The goal is to let people know that you believe
in them even when they are not operating to their highest potential. It is
important to understand that the intention of leadership is to BECOME something
versus GET something.
As always if I can help you and the
people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would
invite you to email me or to visit my website below and see if any of the
training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! In fact, I am
launching a new SPEAK FOR IMPACT
training program that will help both novice and experienced leaders find their platform and increase
their communication skills! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud
Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will
send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your
organization! Such an initiative would be critical to add value to your
organization!
Yours in Leadership,
Bill Faulkner
Principal Consultant –
Out Loud Strategies
Independent Coach,
Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email = bill@outloudinc.com
For more information on
the John Maxwell Team, please visit
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