Until less than 40 years ago, almost the only way for a woman to reach positions of responsibility, whether in business, politics or any other social sphere, was by imitating Male Leadership, which until the end of the 20th century was a "Leadership of power".
The new Leadership for the 21st century is what I call a “ Commitment Leadership ”: the Leader's commitment to his team and his company, and also the commitment that the Leader generates in others, making them feel committed to the work at hand. through motivation.
Now we know what are the attributes of a good Leader in general.
Differences between boss and leader
Boss: Exists by authority - Leader: Exists by goodwill
Boss: Considers authority a privilege of command - Leader: Considers authority a privilege of service.
Boss: Inspire fear - Leader: Inspire confidence
Boss: Knows how things are done - Leader: Teaches how things are done
Boss: He says "Go" - Leader: He says "Let's go"
Boss: Handles people like chips - Leader: Recognizes the importance of people
Boss: Arrive on time - Leader: Arrive early
Boss: Assigns tasks - Leader: Sets an example
Attributes of a good Leader
I have divided them into two parts
- Those that refer to yourself - Self-leadership and Self-esteem. The person with a good self-leadership does not stress, does not feel anxiety, does not get discouraged. The person with good self-esteem will never fear that an employee will take their job or overshadow them, they will like them to grow as a professional.
- Those that refer to your team - Listen, collaborate, train, relate, all of them referring to the time and attention you dedicate to your team. Get used to the idea that a good part of your working day will have to be dedicated to supervising your team. That is what will make productivity go up and everyone is comfortable.
You must be very clear about what is expected of each team member
When we don't know what is expected of us, we feel lost, aimless. Make it very clear to each one of them what their duties are, where their tasks begin and their partner's ends, in which areas you expect proactivity, and what issues require your direct supervision.
Correctly transmitting the company's values will also help your staff to identify the “energy” that drives the entire workforce and what is expected of him / her at a general level, in addition to what is expected in your area.
Make everyone see that they are important to the team
This will make them feel individually motivated. It will also make each one value the rest, which will create a good work environment and team spirit.
If you who are the Leader show the group the importance of a position, that person will not need to fight to be recognized by their peers, even if their work has lower pay and professional status. Try to convey the idea that each person on the team is equally important in ensuring that everything works properly.
Take care of new team members
When a team is already formed and functioning, it is easy for us to forget how important our participation is in the integration of a new member.
Although I understand that it is lazy, each person who joins has the right to receive the same treatment that each member of the team received when the group was formed or when you came to lead it. Make that effort, it is an investment since that person will integrate more quickly and will have less stress and a more positive attitude.
Never forget that you work with people, they are not active and much less numbers. The more you take care of them, the better they will respond to you, the more you make them participate in the decisions, the more they will get involved, the greater your Self-Leadership, the less peaks your team's performance and work environment will have.
"Leading is not commanding, it is knowing how to serve and direct others with purpose and love." Begoña Pavón.
