It takes all sorts

The best boss I ever worked with was the hardest toughest meanest b****rd I ever worked with. That always used to strike me as counterintuitive. To a degree I hated him and at the same time I would walk through walls for him.

I had other bosses that I would walk through walls for that I was much more friendly with and yet other bosses for whom I wouldn’t cross the street.

The good bosses have one thing in common. They demanded a lot from me. They wouldn’t accept anything other than my best efforts and consequently that is what they got. It was when I was working with them that I learned most and grew most. It is a salutary lesson. Some leaders are too focussed on being liked than being effective and oftentimes they short change the people in their charge by not demanding enough from them.

It takes all sorts of tactics to motivate and inspire our people. There is no one size fits all. It is our #1  job as leaders to have the flexibility to help every one of our people to play at the very top of their game both individually and collectively.

David Foster Wallis wrote “Effective Leaders are individuals who help us overcome our own selfishness, weakness and fears, and get us to do harder, better more important work than we would do on our own.”

So the questions for this week are;

• Are the leaders in your firm too keen to be liked to be effective?
• Do you have the flexibility to elevate a wide cross section of people?
• Will the people in your charge say ‘I learned most and I grew most’ about working with you?
• If not, how will you change things up this week?

If you need any help, reach out

Many successful business owners eventually hit a wall on growth and struggle to climb it alone. When you work with me you get a fresh perspective, a solid plan, and customised coaching so you can grow and scale your business safely and at speed.

To check whether I can help you on that journey https://calendly.com/iankinnery/canweworktogether