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You don’t Have to be Charismatic to be a Remarkable Leader 

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Most people think of leaders as being charismatic. These are individuals who are constantly in front of the troops. Shouting encouragement and cheering them on.

The “out front” leader plays an important role in an organization, but there is another type of leader who lurks behind the scenes that deserves special mention because they are actually more effective than the “testosterone leader.”

This is the behind-the-scenes leader who sees their raison d’être to create an environment for people to achieve remarkable things and to personally flourish. They place the priority on determining what people need to do their jobs and responding accordingly.

Seven Tasks that Make the Behind-the-Scenes Leader Remarkable

  1. Cleaning up the messes. Things constantly go wrong in any organization. They always have and they always will because of unexpected events or because of unintended human or technology glitches. The behind-the-scenes leader makes it a priority to fix things FAST rather than spend a whole lot of time finding blame. They realize that strategic progress is made only if normal activity can return to normal state as soon as possible.
  2. Bashing barriers. Removing obstacles that prevent people from effectively performing their role is important for your employees and company’s success. Rules, procedure, and policies can get in the way of people doing their jobs and it is critical they be cleaned up quickly. This cleansing process is a vital enabler to organizational performance and is a top priority of this “quiet” leader.
  3. Telling stories. Motivation is stimulated through telling a story that paints a picture of what success looks like in the trenches. It’s all very well to explain in formal terms what is expected but it is quite another to describe what success looks like in qualitative terms using rich language, visuals, and examples with employees acting out the script. This leader uses the power of the story to move people rather than relying solely on traditional motivation methods to achieve the end.
  4. Preparing the environment. Ensuring a comfortable state of readinessso that people are “leaning in” to what is expected of them without distractions. If workplace details are not attended to they appear as irritants to people; performance suffers. This leader treats favourable hygiene factors the basis for success.
  5. Recognizing performance. Catching people “doing things right” and coaching others when expected behaviour is not demonstrated. The behind-the-scenes leader spends a copious amount of time walking about the workplace, observing what people are doing, assessing what they see relative to the strategy of the organization and intervening either to applaud an employee or coaching them to do things differently.

It’s the little things that add up to delivering either amazing results or falling short; this leader gets it.

  1. Clarifying roles in execution. The individual’s role in executing the organization’s strategic game plan is put under the magnifying glass by this leader. Specifically, what THEY need to do in their position to support synergistic implementation of strategy is spelled out in detailed granular fashion. In addition, performance criteria are provided to every employee so they know exactly what is expected of them.

This leader knows that if direct line of sight isn’t provided between the organization’s strategic game plan and the role of each employee, execution fails and expected results are not achieved.

  1. Playing Dick Tracy. This leader is on a mission to get to know people on a more personal level; to learn their wants and desires. They understand the power of a personal connection with people in terms of fostering trust and a willingness to strive higher levels of performance. And they don’t forget what they learn about people.

They keep a mental file on what they discover to inform them on future decisions affecting the assignment of people to key projects.

Standout leaders do not have to shine in the spotlight. They don’t have to be on stage performing so that everyone will see them and pass on their disingenuous adulation.

They quietly focus on taking care of the little things that make their teams perform remarkably.

Photo Credit: sonofara Flickr via Compfight cc

One Simple Thing Every Successful Leader Has

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I have never espoused that there is a silver bullet for leadership; that there is one single trait or attribute that distinguishes a remarkable leader from others.

Rather I have ascribed standout leadership to many little things that are practiced with relentless passion and consistency.

That said, I do believe that to be a member of the leader herd, and qualify to be considered a standout leader, you must posses a particular trait.

You must make the move from “it” to “them” – from thinking about the job simply as one of creating vision and values to realizing that the job is all about satisfying the wants and desires of humans.

From “that” to “her”or “him”.

Am I over simplifying the dichotomy?

Not really.

Check out the writings on leadership and discover that the pundits promulgate leadership roles like creating vision and values, allocating resources, task delegation, strategic planning, communications, performance management and on and on it goes.

These are “its”.

They are inanimate subjects reeking with an intellectual aroma.

They are subjects that some believe you must master if you are to claim the tag of leader.

I agree that a leader needs to have access to the expertise in these areas and know enough about each of them to know when they are being hoodwinked, but I would NOT agree they need to have a granular understanding of them.

There is another area, however, they DO need to understand intimately.

To get into the leader herd a person must forsake the “its” and be an expert on “them” – human beings.

If you can’t pass the human being test, you should not be allowed to enter the gates to the leader herd.

Here are 7 ways to spot a “them” person:

  1. They have a following of devout, loyal and maniacal fans.
  2. They say “we” a lot. It’s a natural expression when they describe what gets accomplished. “Them” get the praise and the accolades for doing amazing things. The leader is content to stay in the shadows quietly enjoying the moment.
  3. They ask “What can I do to help?”as they walk around the workplace, seeking opportunities to make peoples’ jobs easier – removing internal roadblocks and bashing barriers are priorities.
  4. They use the telephone over email and texts to communicate with others. Body language is hard to read over electronic media; they like the personal touch to accurately read “them”.
  5. Their FEELINGS dominate their intellectual filter. “What is right for others” is the beacon that attracts most of their attention.
  6. They know names. You can’t be a “them” leader without knowing the names of people in your tribe. And they make a special effort to know something special about each of them.
  7. They explain things in simple terms, knowing that spectacular performance requires employees to completely understand what their role is in executing strategy. They leave complex language and big words to the “its” to lose themselves in.

“Them” people have THE key trait to be a successful leader; “it” people are stuck on concepts and principles and will never separate them from their peers.

Photo Credit: harisahmedchicago Flickr via Compfight cc