I had a conversation with an up-and-coming Emerging Leader the other day…
She wanted to talk about how she could avoid being the kind of manager who makes things harder for their people and makes them feel small and insignificant. She wanted to find out the path to becoming a multiplier as a Leader and show her team how to attain their total potential by growing. Here are some of the things we talked about…
Select The Right Mindset
The first question you must ask yourself as a leader is whether you want to think like a diminisher or whether you want to be a Multiplier. When leaders start with a growth mindset and we begin investing in others, a magic multiplicative effect occurs. We start seeing the people around us, naturally, as full, complete, whole, and worthy human beings. We understand intuitively that we need to collaborate with these people rather than see them as competitors or adversaries whom we cannot trust.
See the people around you NOT just as who they are in the moment, but as who they might be able to become with your encouragement and helpful support. See the people around you in terms of their potential. Tell them how you see them in the future, as more than they are today. That will accelerate the multiplicative effect….
Check Yourself
Ask yourself this question: Am I encouraging and investing enough in the people around me? If you want your colleagues to grow, you’ll need to invest your time and energy into them. Either you’re encouraging them and coaching them enough to help them grow, or you’re not. Which is it? If you could be investing more in the people around you, do it. You should double down and invest as much as you can in helping the people around you to elevate their game to another level.
Don’t Waste Time Judging
It never makes any sense to allow yourself to waste time or energy judging or criticizing others until you’re absolutely sure that you’ve been engaged and encouraging them to activate their growth and development. Come to think of it, if you’re engaging and encouraging people to become more, when would it ever make sense to waste time or energy judging? That’s right…NEVER! Now look, as a leader we sometimes need to evaluate the performance of our teams, but we should never do that before we’ve seen them in terms of their potential and made several investments in helping them to begin making positive forward momentum towards their dreams.
Tell Your Story To Others
You should tell those that you’re encouraging about your own personal journey, your toil, and your growth experiences. Once your coaching and encouragement begin to start leading to growth for your teammates, tell THEIR stories of accomplishment to others, too! It’s never a bad idea to talk about the positive changes you see going on around you. And telling your colleagues how proud you are of them in the presence of others, is always a feel-good moment.
Unlocking someone’s potential is one of the most rewarding gifts you’ll ever receive because it really involves two gifts. First, there is the gift that you give to your colleagues that leaves them better, faster, stronger, and smarter. Second, there is the gift of gratitude that you will one day receive from your teammates after they’ve grown and become able to accomplish all of the things that they have been dreaming of. Their gratitude will confirm that your investment was well worth your time and effort, trust me.
Michael is the founder and CEO of a coaching company called Michael Beach Coaching & Consulting, with 5 coaches in Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, and Arizona. Michael is an award-winning Master Coach who specializes in Executive Development of C-suite executives, Business Owners and Emerging Leaders, and business coaching. Michael’s team of coaches are seasoned, with each having been a business founder during their career as well as a highly respected Business Coach. If you’ve got situations you’d like to discuss with a great coach, reach out to Michael at 651-335-4505 or via email at michael@michaelbeachcoach.com.