1-403-470-0259
Performance Leadership Institute
  • ​​​​
    Ho​me
  • About
  • Courses
  • A Little of What We've Done
  • What Others Have Said
  • ​Say Hello
  • ​BloG
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Virtual Coaching
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Virtual Coaching
Performance Leadership Institute

Making A Difference - Be a Noticer - Helping Others Succeed.

5/18/2016

 
Picture
There is an abundance of research on the lists of the top ten attributes companies are looking for in leadership be they internal, or coming from somewhere else.  There is a lot of overlap on most of those attributes and many bodies of research try to encapsulate the more esoteric attributes with terms like Emotional Intelligence, strong interpersonal skills, sociable, team work and one of my favorites – creating social capital by creating strategic personal and professional relationships. (Bridgstock) I like that last one because it implies almost superhuman skills at being able to identify future leaders long before they have developed these skills.  Impressive but really?

Not that I don’t know what they are trying to say.  The core of it is that effective leaders build meaningful relationships.  So if you want to make a difference in the lives of your team these are things you need to work at.  You will find this a daunting task as many may have gone before you who looked like they were building relationships with their staff but were actually just politicians who were using people not advancing them.  It does not take long for folks to develop pretty fine tuned BS meters because of their encounters with bosses like this.

So what do you need to do? You build a network of meaningful relationships by being open and available to anyone in your circle of influence who is open to you.  Even more so, make yourself available to those who might not look like they are open or need help but actually do.  In other words, be a noticer.

Best selling author Andy Andrews wrote a book entitled “The Noticer” in which he chronicles a series of lives impacted by one individual who had taken note of their situation and offered help and advice.  Let’s be clear being a noticer is not about getting ahead, it is about helping others get ahead.  That difference is in perspective and it is this approach that will truly see you come into the quality and type of leadership that will not only improve your leadership skills but will quite frankly be more satisfying.  We are effective as leaders to the degree that we promote and advance our team.  Again it is something you have to work at at first but it is worth it.

I recall early in my career taking note of one of my work colleagues who seemed to be withdrawing from the group and spending more and more time by herself.  I am not sure why but I found that troubling and so one day I took the opportunity to sit down and talk with her about it.  At first she was hesitant but when she realized that I was sincerely interested she eventually opened up about the issues she was facing, mostly personal but with the net result of causing her to question her career choice and effectiveness at work, with the team.  In fact, she had quietly been contemplating quitting.  It was a shocking revelation for a number of reasons but chief among them was that she was truly gifted and suited for her work and had the potential for a long meaningful career.  I shared that perspective with her and over the course of the next few days she eventually came around to understanding how her personal issues had colored her perspective on her value at work.  She committed to working on those issues and was now free of the guilt she was feeling about her contribution on the job.  As far as I know she is still doing that work and is quite successful at it.

I did not think much about it at the time or afterward either.  That is until I was moved into management and was given a leadership role in that group.  It came as a bit of a surprise to me at the time but my boss told me that reports of my helping that colleague along with a few others had come back to him and that was the factor that tipped the scale in my favor when it came to deciding on who to select for that opening. 

Be a noticer, take the time to get to know your team be there for them and help them succeed.   I guarantee you that by being a noticer you will get a level of engagement and commitment from your team that others only dream about.  Performance Leadership – Think About It.
 


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Request A Free No-Obligation Consultation
Book a Free Exploratory Call

Or reach out by email

Submit
© rubicon solutions inc. 2021