Everyday leadership
I will never forget my first day in high school math class. I came from an Afrikaans primary school and even though I was raised completely bilingual, I never did math in English. I remember walking into the class and the teacher saying “Right, today we will be doing fractions”. My mind was racing trying desperately to make sense of the words. After a while, I raised my hand (petrified of how silly other kids might think I was) and asked: “Mam, what is a fraction?” Obviously the class burst out laughing. The teacher kept composure, turned her back to the class after silencing the laughter, said: “Let me show you” and drew a fraction on the whiteboard. Those four words made all the difference. If she had said, “This is going to be a long year” or “How can you not know?” or anything along those lines, I probably would have never asked another question. Goodness knows where that would have led!
So why am I telling you this story?
It’s the small things, the moments we probably miss, that may change the trajectory of someone’s life.
As leaders, our words carry more weight. People look to us, rightly or wrongly, for strength, affirmation, support and guidance. This is the case for all authority figures like parents, teachers, spiritual and political leaders and gurus. You might say “Well that’s obvious, that’s what leaders are there for”. But are all of them, really?
When it comes to leadership, your intent matters greatly. Let’s go back to the example of my teacher: If she intended to put in as little effort as possible, to see the slow (or Afrikaans) kids as a nuisance and see out her time waiting for retirement, there is no way she would have answered me with so much patience. Rather, I believe her intent was to teach, to invest, to equip and to enable young minds. And in my case, it worked. It genuinely changed the course of my life.
This is a reminder to check your intent. Pay attention to the way you show up. If your intent is to lead, inspire, guide, help and develop let it shine through everywhere you go. This is part of the heavy responsibility of being a good leader. Some examples could look like this:
- Take the blame when things go wrong
- Give away all the credit when it goes right
- Stay late to show someone how
- Try to be more patient when mistakes happen (a tough one for most of us)
- Show others that you trust them and tell them why you do
An encouraging word, a kind and patient answer, a genuine smile and “time wasted” to listen to someone’s story could have a much bigger impact than you could ever imagine. It could change a trajectory.
If you would like to enhance your leadership capability, get in touch. You can reach us at info@purposeworks.co.za.
At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.
