Motivating others

The most impactful thing any leader can do is motivate others to be the best they can be. It's essential if you want people to succeed and, in turn, realize the company's vision. That's the big-picture responsibility of any leader. But, let's be honest, there's a more mundane, everyday side to motivation, and that is simply getting people to do what you need them to do. This can be a big challenge for some leaders, especially if you aren't used to handing over responsibility for tasks. (I talk more about delegation later in the chapter.) The good news is that people generally want the same thing from work—they want clarity, they want to feel their work matters, and they want recognition for a job well done. If you can give them that, your life as a leader will be much, much easier.

Here's how to do it:

• Make sure people know how their role contributes to the company's vision, so they understand the value of their work.
• When it comes to specific tasks, be clear on what's needed, why it's needed, and when it's needed.
• Give people the autonomy to accomplish the task in their way. If you've ever been micromanaged, you'll know all too well the negative impact it has on motivation.
• Show your appreciation and celebrate success. Individual feedback, public praise, and team celebrations are great ways to motivate people.

Recognizing and fostering potential

Great leaders look for potential, not performance. They can spot potential a mile away, and give people the opportunities to achieve their potential. Of course, every team member is different, so there's no one template for potential. Rather, getting the best out of people means playing to their individual strengths. Here's what that may look like in practice:

• Don't fall into the trap of getting people to think and act like you. If you want to leverage people's individual strengths, you have to encourage them to think and act like them. Allowing people to be their authentic selves is a great way to unleash their potential.
• Help people develop their critical thinking and decision-making skills (see Chapters 5 and 6), for example, by encouraging them to think about the likely outcomes of certain decisions and the impact on various stakeholders.
• Encourage people to take risks, step outside their comfort zone, and test new ideas. (For this to really work, people need to know that it's okay to fail sometimes.)
• Build a high-performance team (more on building a team later in the chapter). Because, when you surround people with high performers, you're more likely to strengthen their potential.
• Don't let people grow complacent—constantly encourage them to develop their skills and think about the next stage of their career, whatever that may be.

Inspiring trust

Without trust, how can you inspire anyone to do more and become more? It takes a lot to gain people's trust—and keep it—but it's a vital part of leading others, especially in times of business disruption, change, and uncertainty.

So, what makes a leader trustworthy? The following behaviors are a good start:

• Being ethical (circle back to Chapter 14), which encompasses being honest and transparent, keeping promises, and generally making sure you don't say one thing and then do another
• Making your values clear and, of course, living those values
• Standing up for what you believe in, even when it feels like you're swimming against the tide
• Being an excellent listener, which shows you care (People who care can generally be trusted to do the right thing and act in the interests of others.)
• Facing difficult issues head on, rather than pretending everything is fine

Taking on and giving up responsibility

Read anything about leadership and you'll see a lot about delegation. But I like to think of responsibility in two halves—sure, there's delegating responsibility, but good leaders also take on responsibility. When it comes to the latter, leadership means:

• Knowing what to delegate and what not to delegate
• Being willing to take charge, in good times and the not-so-good times
• Being accountable and willing to take the blame when things go wrong
• Building a reputation as someone others can count on

In terms of delegating effectively:

• Remember, delegating gives others the chance to grow their skills. If you refuse to give others responsibility, you deny them learning opportunities.
• Play to the strengths of your team and allocate responsibility accordingly. Who has the specific skillset to achieve the result you want?
• Once again, clarify the desired end result and then give people the freedom and autonomy to decide how best to do the work. Be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things—your way isn't the only way.
• Ensure people have the knowledge, resources, and tools they need to succeed.
• Decide how you'll monitor progress without micromanaging. For example, you can agree how the person will report back to you, and how often—as well as the best way for them to raise any questions.
• Provide regular feedback, both so you can give praise and so you can take action when things aren't going according to plan. There's more on giving (and receiving) feedback later in the chapter.
• Revisit the pointers on motivating others from earlier in the chapter because these will also help you delegate more effectively.

Thinking strategically

In Chapter 5 I talked about the importance of critical thinking at all levels of a business, especially in this fast-paced world where we're constantly bombarded with information. Strategic thinking means applying these critical thinking skills in order to take a wider view, solve business problems, and make a long-term plan for the future.

This is what leaders do. They take a holistic view of things, rather than focusing in on the here-and-now or thinking only of their own job and responsibilities. Given the rapidly changing nature of work, I'd argue this is an important skill for everyone to cultivate, not just those at the top of the chain.

To boost your strategic skills, you can:

• Keep in mind the difference between urgent and important. Urgent fire-fighting tasks can suck up a lot of your time and energy, leaving very little bandwidth for those things that are important from a big-picture perspective, but not urgent. Combat this by constantly reminding yourself of your priorities, and managing your time accordingly (turn to Chapter 17 for more on time management).
• Free up time for strategic thinking by delegating effectively. It's hard to see the bigger picture when you're bogged down in the day-to-day minutia.
• Ask better questions—the kinds of strategic questions that help you spot new opportunities, work out how to respond to challenges, and think a few steps ahead. A good example is asking, “Where will our growth come from in the next few years?”
• Harness your critical thinking skills (Chapter 5) to gather data and find solutions to your strategic questions. Don't answer strategic questions based on assumptions or gut instincts.
• Look for connections and patterns that others might not see.
• Don't be afraid to take risks that may not ultimately pay off. To succeed, you have to be willing to fail. I get that this makes many people uncomfortable, but it's an important part of striving for bigger things. (Circle back to Google's “20-percent rule” from Chapter 8.)
• Include others in the strategic process. As we saw in Chapter 13, diversity of thought is a good thing.

Setting goals and expectations for everyone

Setting goals is a great way to drive performance. Traditionally, this is done in a top-down way, with leadership setting strategic and management goals, and managers setting goals for teams and individuals—a process that may only take place once a year. But I suggest you consider a much more dynamic approach known as objectives and key results (OKRs). This technique is used by Google (among others) as a goal-setting framework.

I urge you to read up on OKRs in more detail, but as a very brief summary:

• OKRs consist of short, inspirational objectives and, typically, two to five key results (measurable deliverables) for each objective. In other words, the objectives define where you want to go, and the key results measure your progress towards those goals.
• Individual and team OKRs don't cascade down from the top. Rather, leadership sets some strategic OKRs for the business, then each team and individual designs their own OKRs that contribute to achieving the company's strategic OKRs.
• What I love about OKRs is they encourage collaboration. OKRs make it easy to understand how everyone in the organization has a critical role to play in achieving the strategic OKRs. Everyone is moving towards a common objective.
• OKRs work best when they are simple and agile. Forget annual goal-setting; OKRs are typically set on a monthly or quarterly basis, meaning the business can stay nimble and respond to change.
• OKRs are not a tool for evaluating employees. If people are going to set ambitious OKRs (which is what you want, rather than setting goals that are too easy), they need to know they won't be negatively impacted if they don't achieve every single OKR. A good rule of thumb is that it's fine to achieve 60–70 percent of OKRs.
• OKRs are intended to be lightweight, so don't overburden the process with lots of meetings or documentation.

Giving (and receiving) feedback

One of the most important things a leader can do is support their team and help people perform better—which relies on the ability to give feedback, both positive and negative. As humans, we often have a tendency to look for the things that are not going well, so that we can correct them. But it's just as important to focus on what people are doing well, and celebrate that success regularly.

That said, giving someone positive feedback is fairly easy. It's generally the negative feedback that leaders struggle with. Here are a few tips for giving negative (or as I prefer to call it, constructive) feedback:

• Don't put it off. Otherwise, you may end up overwhelming the person with a very long list of their faults or—worse—blurting out negative comments in a moment of frustration or anger. Have a process in place for regular catch-ups, ideally weekly or at the very least monthly, where you can chat through progress, give feedback, answer questions, and (if you're using them) check in with OKRs.
• Do it in private. Public praise can be great for morale, but constructive feedback should always be given behind closed doors.
• Be specific, not emotional. Don't be awkward, apologetic, or aggressive. Just treat it as a straightforward conversation, using specific, concrete examples instead of opinions or emotions.
• Don't dilute constructive feedback with praise. If you sandwich negative comments with a positive comment either side, there's a risk the person may only hear the good stuff. So, while it's important to regularly give people praise, I wouldn't do it at the same time as constructive feedback.
• Ask questions like “What was your thought process for X?” or “What do you think could be done better next time?” This encourages self-awareness and critical thinking, and can help you identify any underlying issues, lack of understanding, or miscommunications that need to be rectified.
• Agree a way forward, based on the positive results and behaviors that you want to see in future (as opposed to you telling them exactly what to do). Check in against these goals in your regular catch-ups.

Of course, feedback is a two-way street. So as well as giving feedback, any leader must also invite and accept feedback. However, this may not always be positive. Here are some tips for coping with constructive feedback from others:

• Don't react straight away. Take time to reflect on what you've been told, giving yourself an honest (non-emotional) evaluation. Remember, constructive feedback is an opportunity to improve.
• Ask yourself, “How could I do this better in future?” Identify key learning points and actions that will help you improve.
• Check in on your own progress—through self-evaluation and asking others for feedback.

Building a strong team

I talked about teamwork and collaboration in Chapter 9, but leaders must also be able to build teams—much like a football manager picks strong players who perform different roles and then shapes those players into a cohesive team unit. In my experience, some leaders actively shy away from picking strong people who may outshine them, but this isn't a smart move for the long term. A strong team makes its leader look good. An underperforming team doesn't.

Assuming you're involved in the selection process (you may not be, for example, if you've “inherited” a team), you obviously want to recruit the right people. This means choosing people with the right skills, of course, but don't overlook the importance of diversity—diversity of skills, thought, background, age, gender, culture, and so on. (See the importance of diversity, Chapter 13.) Also look for people who are good team players, who enjoy working towards a common goal.

With the right people in place, it's up to you to mold them into a team:

• Foster that sense of team spirit by building connections within the team. People will take their cue from you, so model the behaviors you want to see: connecting as human beings, showing an interest, listening to each other, treating people with respect and dignity, and supporting one another.
• Remember, it's a team of individuals. Each person will bring their own unique skills and experiences, be motivated by different things, have different working styles, and so on. Embrace this, and try to see this diversity as the asset it is, rather than trying to force everyone to behave the same way.
• Set your expectations. We've talked about driving performance already, but you'll also want to set your expectations for how the team functions. For example, do you want to create the sort of team where everyone plays a role in the decision-making? (Ideally, yes.) Then make that clear from the outset.
• Give feedback and reward a job well done, if not through financial bonuses, then with gratitude. If appropriate, you can also hand over additional responsibilities, thereby showing trust in your team.

Positivity

The attitude you bring to work has a huge impact on the people around you. If you show up with a negative “this won't work, that thing sucks, why do we bother” kind of attitude, it'll spread throughout your team. The good news is, anyone can cultivate a positive attitude, even if you're a natural pessimist. I'm not talking about blind optimism here or pretending that everything is always fine. Rather, I'm talking about acknowledging the positives and not spiraling into negativity every time something goes wrong.

Here's how you can lead from a place of positivity:

• Think carefully about the language you use, verbally and in writing. Use words with positive connotations—turning a “problem” into an “opportunity” being a prime example.
• I've said it before but I'll say it again: celebrate successes, big and small. Highlighting the little wins on a regular basis can be just as impactful as sporadically celebrating the big wins.
• When things don't go according to plan, stay calm. Try to respond from a place of kindness, patience, and empathy.
• Resist the urge to complain to others on your team. There's a scene in Saving Private Ryan where Tom Hanks, who plays a captain, is asked by his team of soldiers why he never complains. His answer is worth keeping in mind: “I don't gripe to you… . Gripes go up, not down. Always up.”
• Inject some fun into the working week. Whether it's through team lunches, away days, weekly bowling nights, casual Fridays, or occasional after-work drinks, fun activities boost morale and help the team mesh together.

Authenticity

In the previous chapter we saw that unethical behavior is often inauthentic behavior—where a brand says they behave one way, then acts another. But it's not just companies who need to practice authenticity—we need authentic leaders, too. And being an authentic leader means being able to connect with people on a human level. For me, it's a key part of building trust.

But what makes someone authentic? Some of the attributes frequently associated with authentic leaders are:

• Leading with empathy, or leading “from the heart”
• Being honest, open, and transparent
• Having a strong ethical and moral compass
• Being self-aware—meaning a good leader is aware of their weaknesses as well as their strengths, and open about those weaknesses
• Learning from mistakes
• Bringing your whole self to work, as opposed to having one persona for work and one outside of work