In this video of an interview with Fran Katsoudas, Cisco’s CPO, Fran makes a comment that “leadership needs to be customized” and that leaders should “cater to the individual.”
My first thought was, “of course we should!” and then I realized if all leaders were doing this (among other things), the realm of coaching and leadership development would be much smaller and I might be out of business. 🙂
Given that we all have room to grow, here are four ideas for customizing your leadership approach:
- One size doesn’t fit all. This applies to clothing as well as managing your team. Everyone has different motivators and ways they like to be interacted with. Some team members will appreciate group praise, while it will make others want to curl up under the table in the fetal position. Some may like the free-flowing, unstructured nature of a 1-1, and others will find it difficult to understand what you need from them. Take the time to get to know your peeps and how they work best.
- Leadership is a contact sport. If you’re
antisocialsuper introverted like me and would rather poke yourself in the eye rather than interact with people on some days, leadership may not be for you. That’s not to say that us introverts can’t be strong leaders. It is to say that leading others means engaging. Having the 1-1 meetings, scheduling and keeping the team meetings on the calendar, holding people accountable and initiating the challenging conversations if things go off the rails. And mostly, being a human. Talk to your people and see what makes them tick. A little curiosity goes a long way. (See #1 – we all have different needs and you don’t know unless you ask.) - There’s no growth in the comfort zone. I hate this concept. Really. As much as I consider myself a lifelong learner, I frequently get scared about stepping outside my comfort zone and would rather play it safe. (This makes it hard to grow a business, by the way, so I push myself regardless of how I feel. See this post – take action, your brain will follow.) If you lead or manage others, doing it effectively means taking actions that may feel uncomfortable – talking to an employee if they are underperforming, for example, or telling someone why they’re not ready for the promotion they keep lobbying for. There is growth in stretching your edges and each time you do it will make it easier for the next time. (See #2 – get in the game.)
- Authenticity is King (or Queen). I have seen leaders aspire to be like others they admire. Which is great, I’m all for emulating strong leadership behaviors. Up until the point that you are so far out of your zone that you become unrecognizable as the leader currently known as You. The key is to find the balance of maintaining the core of who you are, while stepping into new behaviors that support your growth. And you’ve heard this before no doubt, but it bears repeating. Vulnerability is a strength. It’s ok if you’re a little shaky trying out new ways of being. It shows your humanness and gives others the permission to do the same. (See #3 – if you want things to be different, you have to be willing to do things differently.)
None of these is novel or new. I’m likely not telling you anything you don’t already intuitively know. But we can all use the occasional reminder. Self included.
Your call to action is to take an objective inventory. What shifts, if any, can you make to customize your leadership style to different team members?
