Think about the best leader you ever had. Now think about the worst.
I imagine that you probably felt the difference before you could describe it.
I decided to make this the topic of my blogs this week as I have recently been made to remember both. I remember both feelings vividly. One made me feel capable. The other made me doubt myself. You could say one expanded my world; the other shrank it and made me feel small.
The most memorable leaders in our careers have one thing in common: we remember how they made us feel. Not their job titles. Not their strategic plans. Not their slide decks. We remember the emotional footprint they left behind. A leader can make you feel:
- Safe enough to speak up
- Trusted enough to take ownership
- Inspired enough to stretch
- Valued enough to stay
- Seen enough to grow
Or they can make you feel:
- Afraid to make mistakes
- Invisible in the room
- Micromanaged into silence
- Exhausted from uncertainty
- Disconnected from purpose
The difference between those two lists is not soft. It’s not optional. It’s organisational climate and culture.
With that in mind, take time to think:
- When people leave a meeting with you, what feeling do they walk away with most often, and how do you know?
- What would your team say you actually trust them with?
- When you walk into a room, what changes; the energy, the tone, the behaviour?
- If leadership is the emotional climate you create, what climate are you creating today?
As leaders, we can show our people that we are role modelling the changes that all of us want to see. Let’s be better and be the change – contact [email protected] if you would like help to do so.
For more articles, encouraging you to think and be the change – visit here.