I am reading a book called “The Energy Bus” (website if you want more details http://www.theenergybus.com/) And this book is amazing! It really has some great insight into being a great leader and how to use your positive Energy to push yourself and others forward.
The book is written around a ficitional character who is a leader in a company that is releasing a new product. One of the things this character struggles with is getting his team on board with this new idea. He meets 1×1 with his team and they all pretty much tell him that he is a terrible leader! One of his people goes on to say that why should he work for him when he never get’s noticed or thanked!
This got me thinking about those times when we just suck as leaders! Now I know that ‘Suck’ is a bit of a strong word but frankly it’s true! We all have times where we just aren’t at our best and those times can go on for days, weeks even years unless someone tells us!
We think we are doing so great and being an amazing leader, but our teams are simply floundering because they aren’t seeing the same greatness we are perceiving!
I started wondering about how many times my team would look at me and think, you suck as a leader! I know I’ve thought it over the years and even said the words out loud to my spouse! Here’s where good leaders succeed, instead of sitting around thinking we are terrible or wondering how do we get better we look inside and think about what can we change?
What areas do we need to improve and what resources are available to us! This blog is a good one (if I do say so myself) But good books like the Energy Bus are also great tools. Now just for the record, I don’t get anything for suggesting this book! I really think it’s a great book!
So here’s a thought for this week… how about you think about ways you Suck as a leader! Seriously think about this for 30 seconds (That’s all you get) Then start to think about the ways you are an amazing leader. Do that for 2 minutes! Then go around and tell your team what you appreciate about them. If they are remote send an email! Don’t offer a ton of information just affirm them AND BE SPECIFIC!
Here are some examples, I really love the way you handled that difficult client last week, or thank you so much for taking on that new project, I know you are busy but this really helps the team. Or I really appreciate your positive energy during our meetings, this really helps me!
Now go and Don’t suck as leaders! And when you start to think about why you aren’t doing so great! GO GET THE ENERGY BUS BOOK!!!
Leadership Simplified 