5. Leading People

Your role as a leader is to inspire, motivate, encourage, support and protect your people. They must follow you because they want to, not because they’re afraid of the consequences if they don’t. You must always remember that they have a choice, and they can always jump ship and follow someone else if they want to.

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"If you think you’re leading but you look over your shoulder and there’s no one there, you’re just taking a walk." John C. Maxwell said that, and he was right.

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Having a grand vision and communicating it to your people so that they’re as excited about it and want to achieve it just as much as you do is a pivotal part of your role as a leader.

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But protection? Yes, you must protect your people from things such as interference or criticism from on high. As their leader, the buck stops with you, and you must be prepared to shoulder these things while letting your people get on with doing their job. In every decision you make, you must have your people’s best interests at heart.

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You must also protect your people from themselves sometimes. If you’ve done a great job of inspiring and motivating them, they might become so committed to achieving your objective that they forget to look after themselves. Look out for the signs of burn-out and intervene sooner rather than later.

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In an ideal world you will involve your people in the process of making decisions that affect them. A democratic decision-making discussion in which everyone’s ideas and opinions are considered will result in a better decision. It’s also more likely to be effectively implemented since your people own it, at least in part.

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Of course, sometimes – particularly in a crisis, when the chips are down and action must be taken swiftly – you won’t have time for a democratic process. When the pressure is on and a decision must be made quickly, it’s up to you to make it. In high-pressure, time-constrained situations, your people will appreciate being given firm, confident directions. Don’t disappoint them.

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All leaders have their personal preference when it comes to their style of leadership. Autocrats like command and control, managers like a transactional style, laid-back leaders like a laissez-faire approach, democrats like to involve everyone, and so on.

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In general, a democratic approach to leadership will usually achieve the best results because it gives people an opportunity to be involved in decision making. The feeling of empowerment is very motivating and encourages people to take responsibility for their part in the work.

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You will need to adapt your leadership style to the needs of the individual people whom you’re leading, and to the situation in which you’re leading them. It may happen that you’ll have to adopt one style with one person and a different style with someone else, at the same time! If this sounds a bit tricky, it is. It requires self-awareness, confidence and practice to get it right.

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When you find yourself in a leadership role, you must acknowledge and accept that you are a leader. Never question it. You are the leader, and it’s your responsibility to act like one.