Leadership on the Field of Play

We’ve all heard the phrase “There’s no ‘I’ in team.”   Nothing could be further from the truth.   There is a whole bunch of “I’s” in a team, and as a leader you will need to keep this in mind.   You succeed or fail as a team.   Each member of the team needs to understand this at some level.   And as a leader, you need to grasp the reality that success will be viewed as a group triumph, but failure ultimately rests on your shoulders.   That will be tough on your ego.   Suck it up.   You need to be able to share the glory and take the blame.   This basic behavior is one of the elements that lies at the heart of building a loyal team.   It demonstrates that you have the team members’ backs and will foster a sense of trust and solidarity among the individuals.   It should also help to develop an open environment in which members see themselves as a valued part of something larger. Importantly, this approach reduces stress by helpin...

Bear in mind that for those receiving your communication, there is often no difference between withholding information and lying.   It has been said that you should always withhold some information from those above you and from those below you.   This comes under the rubric of information as power.   I would say this is more like information as a powder keg that can blow up on you at any moment.   Upon discovering that they have been working without all of the necessary information, your team will instantly lose trust.   They will become unsure of their real goal, and, more importantly, of YOUR real goal.   Not good.   As for your superiors, upon finding out that you have withheld information from them, they also will instantly lose trust.   And you might lose your job.   Also not good. The point here is that transparency is a really important aspect of leadership.   You may think that you have good reason to hold back information i...

There is probably no single greater influence on your success, or lack of it, than your ability to communicate personally and to develop strong communication networks.   The principles are incredibly simple, but at the same time elusive and difficult to master. Here are a few tips. First, let’s think about Paul Revere.   Trust me on this one.   Mr. Revere employed a simple communication system to signal the coming (or not) of the British.   One lantern meant that the Brits were approaching by land, and two indicated that they coming by sea.   We can reasonably assume that three lanterns would have meant that they were coming by both means.   But let’s consider a situation in which no lanterns were displayed. What would that have communicated?   Well, it might have meant that no British soldiers had been sighted, hence no lanterns.   But it could also have meant that the system was not functioning—that is, that for some reason no one was m...

It may end well; it may end badly; but it will end.   If you think otherwise, you are wrong.   The reasons can be many, from committing missteps, to sabotage, to just plain running your course.   It is important to know when the end is near.   This takes a good dose of self-awareness, an ego kept in check, and a sense of pride.   These last two items may seem to be contradictory, but they aren’t.   As a leader you should take pride in what you have accomplished.   If you can’t do that, push the eject button immediately.   But your ego is likely to tell you that you can (or must) continue, even if the signs are there that the end is near.   If you know when to bow out, both your pride and ego can remain intact.   If your timing is bad, both may suffer. Win or lose, it is important to leave graciously and gracefully. Leaving while you are on top is best, if you are lucky enough to have that happen.   In that case, thank everyone ...

Patience is both difficult to master and essential to good leadership.   As a team member, you may remember having wondered why the team leader didn’t make what you saw to be obvious and logical decisions in a timely manner.   As a leader, you will need to change your perspective.   Making a quick unilateral decision, even if it is the correct one, can leave the team feeling disenfranchised.   The team needs to work through issues and reach decisions that they understand and thus support.   Note: Even if some members don’t support a decision, they need to understand how it was reached.   Having the team work through it as a group will help here. Patience can also have the benefit of letting issues resolve themselves.   Many personnel issues, especially those that are grounded in personalities and not policies, tend to play out over time with little collateral damage.   Unhappy employees, and some of the issues they cause, are...