Leadership isn't about getting the title or winning the bid, it's about stepping up and performing the role. But one's leadership authority naturally diminishes without the leader's consistent attention and development.

Read on: blog.WednesdayWin.com​

Read time: 5 minutes

The good news? While the challenge for leaders is great, the primary tools are easy to understand and begin to put into practice.

Let's explore:

1. Learn to manage with grace

Leadership is valued and appreciated by those who feel understood and appreciated. Leaders need to take in ideas, give them due consideration, and communicate plans in a manner that shows recognition and appreciation of the team.

This means, don't lord your authority over others, don't put yourself in a position to unfairly take from your team, and recognize that some necessary decisions will be unpopular.

And most critically, never complain to your team about your problems--especially ones they can't fix. They have their own issues and don't want to hear about your problems.

• Be reasonable and gracious with your team
• Publicly praise good outcomes, but privately instruct when mistakes are made
• Always defer praise directed to you onto your team instead
• Take personal responsibility for any errors of the team instead of trying to pass along the blame to others

2. Tackling challenging situations

Don't avoid problems. Investigate and take action. Most problems only get worse if ignored so don't avoid. Engage.

Staff discontent? Poor performance? Customer dissatisfaction? Industry trends moving against you? Underperforming strategy? Whatever it is, dig in.

This doesn't mean you pretend to have all the answers. Enlist your team. Layout the issues and leverage their knowledge to craft a strategy to address the problems before they become too large.

• Problems rarely improve or disappear if you delay addressing them
• Leverage your team and their knowledge
• Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know," when you don't
• Don't hide major problems to avoid scrutiny of your leadership

3. Saying "no" by saying "yes"

The high profile of a leadership role often leads to an increase in calls for assistance, favors, or attention from others. Many of these are requests for specific assistance but are often couched in broader asks.

For example, a successful company founder and CEO shared with me how often requests for introductions to their venture capital partners come in the form of a request for an informational interview. That turns a 15 minute request into a much larger scheduling effort combined with a lengthy call just to get to the ask.

As a leader, you need to watch out for those time and attention killers and craft options for responding positively while declining the extra. Say "no" with an alternative "yes".

Often this requires a bit of work once to reduce the over all load. Craft a form that requestors for introductions can use and refuse the extra meeting. Create some basic training materials so you don't have to explain your expertise to every new colleague entering your field.

Scale up your response efficiency and preserve your time and attention for where you can have the greatest impact.

• Find ways to respond positively even when you need to decline the ask
• Create self-service or low-touch responses to common requests
• Use your time wisely
• Don't let others control your agenda

4. Have the tough conversations

Many leaders struggle the most with this: face-to-face hard conversations. Everything from small issues up to firing for cause, leaders often shy away from clear and direct conversations about specific personnel and performance issues.

You are not required to settle all of the world's challenges, but you do have to lead your team through both celebrating wins and addressing underperforming or otherwise challenging staff.

Take the time to learn how to communicate more effectively. Read, take courses, and leverage your own boss or board to improve your direct communication skills. It's critical to leading high-performing teams.

• Be kind, but direct and clear
• Avoid roundabout phrasing and euphemisms
• Ensure that you are understood and that follow-up actions are clear
• Understand legal responsibilities and act accordingly

5. Develop the best

Remember that leadership is not just seniority and rewards, it's also stewardship, mentorship, and guidance. Take the time to learn your team members' goals and ambitions. Seek to align opportunities with desired owners from your team.

Provide training. Schedule to support learning opportunities and create openings for them to demonstrate their personal initiative and growth.

Be a sounding board and work to help those that aren't right for your team. Support career development even when that means a high performer needs to leave to take the next career step.

• Think long-term in developing skills and capabilities on your team
• Be reasonable with schedules so that learning is also possible
• Be a mentor with a genuine desire to help
• Don't try to limit career growth just to hang on to a top performer

Action Summary

Leadership is difficult, but can also be a catalyst for great growth. The great benefit of seeing the entire team perform at a higher level than they thought possible is a real reward.

Treat people with respect, help them learn and growth, and achieve your priority goals. That's the ideal.

• Learn to lead with grace and respect
• Address, don't avoid, emerging problems
• Learn to say "no" with an alternative "yes"
• Have the tough conversations
• Support the development of each of your team

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What do you think? What else is essential for leadership? Reply to this email and let me know.

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To your success,

Christopher

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P.S. Like this one? You'll probably want to check out this earlier Wednesday Win essay on the Four Rewards of Leadership, too.

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