It’s Time to Step Up, Speak Up, Reach Out

Today I spent an hour with 450 leaders who are also parents or carers talking about ‘New and Necessary Leadership Styles.’ We were looking at this question together, ’What leadership is needed for right now?’

Many came with questions about how to lead in a hybrid world where the balance between work and home has become so much more demanding.

The group was diverse, with new and experienced leaders, some with babies, some with teens and others with elderly parents to care for.

Many questions arose around how to manage remote and global teams, how to put boundaries in around work and home and how to remain visible and relevant.

What was very present was a need for a new approach to leadership and to life. An approach that responds to our reality now, where these two parts of self have become much more integrated. Families and communities have been re-prioritised, how can we adapt to that? What can we bring from our lives into our leadership and from our leadership into life?

PEOPLE FIRST

There are many new and emerging models of leadership - what is central to and at the forefront of all of them is PEOPLE. It starts with how we communicate, how we show empathy for others by knowing what they value and understanding their perspective.

Too many meetings are measured on outputs rather than how people are achieving those outputs. What’s going on in the background for the people that are in our meetings? Perhaps we should ask. The risk in asking, is that people will talk about their feelings and emotions, but if we continue to only communicate at the level of rituals and cliches such as ‘How are you”,’ …..Good thanks,’ we will never build rapport.

TRUST

The success of hybrid working models depends on how much trust there is between people. Part of David Maisters ‘Trust Equation ‘ is intimacy, how we build relationships. We have to allow our vulnerabilities to be seen, to be ok with not having answers. To ask for help and help others. We have learnt about the power of that in our communities recently. We have to keep doing that with an eye on staying inclusive to those that are struggling because of their caring responsibilities, own vulnerabilities or a lack of resources to WFH.

So many feel isolated at work. So many don't reach out to collaborate with colleagues. New leadership requires us to get much better at collaborating, inviting those in our networks that are different to us, that bring fresh thinking and new perspectives. Stepping away from the ‘important and urgent’ tasks on our to do list for a while and thinking more strategically. Seeking opportunities to collaborate.

LEAD

And finally it all comes down to leadership. We may not be working in an organisation where ‘new’ leadership is practised. So, we have to ‘be the change’ and role model the leadership that we want to see. It’s time to step up, speak up and reach out.