As a leader, you make an impact.
Think of a time you really enjoyed your job. Things flowed, you felt supported by your leader and you enjoyed your coworkers. You were in synch, and things got done. Were they perfect? Heck no! But it felt good.
You can be at a huge organization or a small one, and have this experience.
What do they have in common?
Regardless of the size of the business, the person you reported to put effort into making it a great place to be. Perhaps you didn’t know it at the time. In order for a good culture to exist, there are a lot of choices, hard decisions, and even strategic partnerships happening in the background to create that place of trust, fun, and collaboration.
What stands out for me is a contract role I had at a large Canadian University. I joined a team of 5, a tiny microcosm of the massive HR team. These people got s*it done! The energy was strong, we worked really hard, and we laughed a lot. I was aware of many negative cultures across the institution. We saw even then, what made us different: regardless of any internal politics, rumblings, budget cuts, or changes, our leader had our backs. She was a force; incredibly succinct and wise, knew what was important and what wasn’t, and taught us how to see this for ourselves. She gave us the tools, then, she let us get on with it.
We soaked it up. We stood up for each other. We offered to help when one person was drowning in overtime. We got each other lunch and asked how the kids were. We did what she put out there, without knowing we were doing it.
Looking back now, can I put my finger on precisely what she did or didn’t do specifically? No. But I have come up with a few things that worked, and do work, no matter the size of your company:
She looked for and hired people with a strong will, and great skill, who were open to learning and valued a great sense of humor.
She had our backs. In public, she defended our decisions. She checked in with us as a team and was honest if there was any “negative press” floating around. We knew she had our backs, and that in private she would hold us to task, if and when we screwed up. It made us stronger.
She taught us to resource well, and empower others - a strong delegator herself, she passed that along.
We have all since moved on to various roles, organizations, successes, and I’m sure some failures! But for me, one thing remains the same: I learned how to be a strong leader because our strong leader knew we were watching, and taught us. She trusted us, showed us what was really going on, and in turn, loyalty was born.
Like Susan Mitchell, you can choose to make it part of your unwritten responsibility to invite trust, back your team, teach and empower.
All you have to do is ask yourself where to start.
Thank you, Susan Mitchell.