EP127: Know Your Team: The Key to Inspiring Leadership
CREATE CONNECTION
When you understand those you lead - they will share their best back.
Enjoy!
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(The notes below are only a brief bullet point summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email request to: angie@angie-robinson.com. We’d be happy to provide that!)
In the previous post / podcast episode (Episode 126: Know Thyself: The Secret to Exceptional Leadership) we talked about the importance of self-awareness in your leadership. That conversation was focused on you. Anytime we focus on ourselves and our own awareness, that impacts the people that we lead. It’s that inside out approach to development.
To be even more impactful as a leader - we also much focus awareness outward - having awareness about the people that you lead. This is about building connection. Connection is the relationship that you have with your team, your peer group, your customers and clients. Connection is really the thread that holds it all together. The mission of connection is really to unlock the best in others and to help them to unlock their own potential. It's about building and nurturing healthy relationships that are rooted in safety and trust with your team, with your peers and the others around you. When you focus on connection, you will cultivate deep understanding of others. You'll tap into diverse talents. You'll master communication, foster trust, and amplify performance results. The whole mission of connection is to build a nurture, healthy relationships by understanding others, adapting your style to meet theirs, fostering that collaborative and safe environment. Having awareness about other people, the people that you interact with, the people that you lead, will bring your leadership impact to an even greater level.
But to be successful at that, you need to understand them. You need awareness that's outward. When you're focusing on yourself, you are sharpening the skill on how to recognize the attributes of other people. You'll start to recognize similarities to you. You'll start to recognize differences. You'll know what questions to ask and what prompts to provide. You'll know how to help others tap into their own self-awareness and then encourage them to show up as their whole person. And as a leader, you'll know how to maximize their strengths and know where to help them stretch. It's going to help you in empowering people and in your quest to help them grow and believe in themselves.
10 Reasons Knowing Your Team is Essential
Enhanced team performance. When you really understand the strengths that people have, the areas of improvement that you can help them develop, and where to stretch people - you will become a master at putting people in position or assigning tasks that align with those capabilities. When we have a collective of people using their strengths, this is going to produce higher productivity and better results.
Better delegation. Oftentimes we run into “emergency situations” where everything's “on fire”. You are put in a position where you need to make some quick decisions and do some fast delegation. When you are aware of your team's strengths and weaknesses, you can do that more effectively and quickly.
Increased employee engagement. When we have better performance and have delegation and when people feel like they're being stretched and used in ways that they can really contribute value, that is going to lead to increased employee engagement. People want to feel connected and valued.
Improved communication and effective conflict resolution. As a leader, oftentimes you are helping to alleviate or work through conflict either within a team or within a couple of people on your team. When we are aware of different personalities and different communication styles, you will know how to adapt your style so you can connect better and mediate conflicts even more effectively.
Enhanced collaboration. When we recognize that there is diversity in what people are capable of, where they shine and what brings them joy, we are more open to different perspectives. This will strengthen and foster a safe and engaged culture. This is going to encourage collaboration.
Tailored support. When you really understand people, you can tailor your support and the individual’s development path. This is when you are going to see the results and the engagement based on that support and development.
Better team dynamics. When you're understanding different personalities and have awareness around the whole person individually - the collective creates a team of understanding as well. This will lead to a more cohesive and efficient sense of teamwork and create an environment where people can learn from each other as well.
Better stress management. Stress does not show up the same in every person. It is unique based on your own personality, preferences, and experiences. When you have awareness around this for your team, you can help your individual team members develop both proactive and reactive ways to manage that stress.
Increased empathy and trust. As the person who is inspiring, setting the vision and creating an engaged environment, demonstrating that you understand and appreciate people for who they are will contribute to building trust.
Elevated inspiration. When you go outward with awareness and really invest in understanding the people that you lead, your relationships change. Your leadership changes. Your effectiveness and impact strengthens. It is a win-win for you as a leader., the team and the organization.
How is Your Outward Awareness?
On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being “I have some work to do” and 10 being “I've got this licked”) - how in tune and aware are you about the people you lead? If it's anything less than a 10, what would it take to get to a 10?
Increase Your Awareness of Others
There are plenty of strategies to enhance your awareness and understanding of others. I’m not going to cover that in detail here - but will share a few quick-hitters:
Get curious and ask questions. Curiosity helps to minimize judgment and opens up possibility and perspective. When we lead with curiosity, it prompts us to ask questions, to dig deeper and have more frequent conversations with people.
Invest in a personality assessment tool (such as Insights). This can be done on both the one-on-one and team levels.
Work with someone who specializes in leadership development, team dynamics and coaching (like me!).
What Do You Think?
Are you aware and connected to those you lead? What are some tips and tricks you could share?
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