In this week’s edition of Beyond the Cupola, Josh Collins dives deep into leadership, what it means in the workplace, and how we can step up as leaders in our current roles.
A New Look at Leadership
Leadership is critical to the success of any organization. Helping team members develop their leadership skills allows an organization to keep the future of their company on an upward trajectory. The trick with leadership is that it is not found in titles, wealth, or power. The true essence of leadership comes from the ability to influence others.
Let’s start with the definition of influence which is “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.” An important component of that definition is capacity. Capacity indicates that every single person has some ability to influence others. There are natural born leaders who will have a very high capacity to inspire others and then there are people on the opposite end of the spectrum who may have to work to develop their skills to impact others or may shy away from leadership opportunities all together. No matter which side you fall into, there is always the opportunity to grow your skill set and to enhance your leadership skills.
What does that mean to our organization? Our organization is full of leaders at all levels. While some may hold leadership positions currently, there will be plenty of others that can make an impact on our organization without having a “supervisor” title. We think it is critically important to support team members who want to grow in their capacity for leadership and spend time working with them to improve their skills. By continually helping team members grow, it will help our business be prepared for times when team members move into new roles or retire.
For team members that would like to grow as leaders, I would encourage them to work on several skills. Strive to create genuine, meaningful relationships with your team members and customers. People are more likely to follow you if they believe in you and know that you will take care of them. Maintain a positive outlook each and every day. Humans share a connectivity and if someone is routinely positive, then that person’s outlook will impact their team. It is amazing how much of a difference a smile or word of encouragement can make in someone’s day. Great leaders are also humble. Take time to thank those around you. No one is capable of going through life without getting help somewhere along the way, so make sure you take the time to recognize and thank the people who help you. If we are consistent in practicing these three items, then we will expand our sphere of influence and find more people looking to us as leaders and prepare us to take on more responsibilities at OSB.