Written by: Andre Young, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
My youngest son plays quarterback and often finds himself in vulnerable situations in which he must open himself up to big hits to deliver the ball effectively. If you’re not familiar with football, the quarterback is the person that throws the ball. They are usually the leader of the team, the most important position on the team, and are at risk of great injury due to hits they see and don’t see coming. A few seasons ago, he wore rib pads for the first time for extra protection, and an amazing thing happened… his confidence to stand in the pocket rose tremendously, his ability to take a hit improved, and his willingness to give a hit improved! Why? In his words… “I felt protected.” What does this have to do with you, your leadership, and your organization?
It’s difficult… and unlikely for people to do their best in an organization or perform their best on a team when they don’t feel protected. Perhaps you’ve worked for a company, or a boss were making a mistake led to being chewed out, disrespected, put down in front of others, demoted, or even fired. It’s unlikely you’d want to take a risk again, nor would anyone else within the organization. It’s hard to grow a business or successful team this way, and you may promote managers… but not leaders!
Throughout this book, you’ve read my thoughts on protection and how it fits into your leadership. Here are 3 ways to protect your people to success:
Create Opportunities for Success
This sounds simple, but several things go into this step to enhance your Leadership & Work/Life Harmony and that of your people:
Know your Vision & Vision Factors for success. It’s hard to know what success is and when you’ve achieved it personally, professionally, and within your organization when you haven’t defined it.
Know what skills, attitude, and success you want and need from your people. Be sure they are aware too!
Know the superpowers of your people; what do they bring to the table? Are they aware? Does their perceived superpower match their true ability or potential? When it matches, great! When it doesn’t, it’s time to have a tough and honest conversation that protects you, them and the team. This leads us to number 4…
Are your people in the right seat within your team or organization to allow success?
Consistently educate and provide training for your people to enhance their skills, their leadership, and their work/life harmony, allowing them the opportunity to progress with you or after you.
We live in a new era; most employees that start with you will not finish with you. It’s not that they’re disloyal… it’s simply the way of today! While they're with you… give them a reason to stay longer and make them great... so when they leave, the world must take notice of the type of people coming from your organization. Believe me, and it will pay off as great people will acknowledge your organization and want to be a part of it!
Embrace Failure
This is the opposite of the example I shared earlier of the person being chewed out after making a mistake. As a leader, create a culture where thinking outside the box is encouraged, the manageable risk is encouraged, and lessons from failure are nourished!
Of course, we all want 100% wins, but that’s not realistic! So how do you embrace failure?
Share with your people the importance of thinking big or bigger… assuming this is something you want to do. Encourage the sharing of ideas with coworkers, leaders, and everyone. Explain there will be times when you will go with their idea, there may be times you collaborate, and times you cannot go with their idea due to bigger picture issues.
It’s also necessary to give your people enough rope to succeed or fail. Although you’re encouraging free and big thinking… it doesn’t mean your employees are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, doing any and every idea, and doing whatever they want. Establish a process of sharing ideas and starting ideas… this process cannot pass through too many desks; otherwise, a lot of nothing happens! Also, if the damage of a new idea and risk is minimal (you must decide what minimal is), provide your people permission to JUST DO IT and report back afterward. Here are a few questions to ask:
What was good about the idea, or what did you do? What did you like about it?
What did you learn from it?
What advice would you give someone doing it in the future
This is a perfect opportunity to protect your people and your leadership and enhance their leadership, as you allow an employee to share their experience and their answers to the questions above in your next meeting. This is how success, growth, and evolution happen and is encouraged!
Success Map
Remember, leaders protect their people from themselves… as not everyone is overly ambitious and “Inspired & Motivated.” Many managers, employees, and team members will drone about when left to their own accord… therefore, create a Success Map for your people!
A Success Map is a plan to show those on your team or in your organization how to achieve their professional definition of success! This suggests you are curious enough to ask and know their answer. Perhaps they want to be you one day and sit in your seat. Maybe they want to open a bakery but need this current job until their dream is a real possibility. Either way… great! Most employees have no idea all of the wonderful things their company can offer. As a professional speaker, I get to meet incredible people all over the world. Some I can impact right away within my area of expertise. Others desire input outside of my wheelhouse, and I get to refer. Therefore, I’m honored to always be of value… and so can you and your organization!
“As a leader, create a culture where thinking outside the box is encouraged, manageable risk is encouraged, and lessons from failure are nourished” – Andre Young
The number one reason people leave their job is a bad boss! For more confident & competent Leaders, improved connection with employees, and an enhanced work culture? Visit https://youevolvingnow.com to connect, chat, and customize Leadership & Work/Life Harmony Trainings with Andre Young today!!!
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Andre Young, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Andre Young is a Professional Speaker, Author, Leadership Trainer, and Founder of You Evolving Now. He worked as a Mental Health Therapist for 19 years, played sports at every level from high school to professional, has been an employee, a business owner, and self-employed, and has written 4 books focused on enhancing Leadership & Work/Life Harmony. As Founder of You Evolving Now, it's his mission to enhance Leadership and Work/Life Harmony for organizations, leaders, employees, and teams with his high-energy, interactive, culture-changing leadership training programs and speaking engagements, allowing a professional and personal evolution!
