This week it seemed to be all about leadership.
Although I wasn’t looking for them I seemed to come across a number of posts on leadership that caught my eye, mainly because of the common thread that ran through them.
Leadership is an attitude and a mindset – we can all do it, no matter what our title or job description.
Leadership – it’s all about attitude
Leadership – it’s an everyday thing
I also watched an interesting video from TEDxToronto with Drew Dudley – “Leading with Lollipops”. The general premise again was that we all have the ability and capacity to make someone’s life better. Sometimes it might be by doing the smallest thing, so small in fact that you may not even remember doing it but it can still have a huge impact on another person.
In other words… We all have the ability to make a difference
Leadership shouldn’t just be about grand gestures or attempting to save the world (although that’s a great goal!) instead we should all be aware of just how much impact we can have on others by the smallest of actions, actions that may in fact be a part of our normal day.
“If we think leadership is too big, or too important or too difficult then we give ourselves an excuse not to expect it from ourselves or in others.” (Drew Dudley, Leading with Lollipops)
The no.1 reason people leave their jobs…
This was further backed up by a post from HC Online about the main reasons people leave their job. When asked what motivates them to perform and remain with their employer, the respondents scored two aspects more strongly than anything. They were:
- A person’s relationship with their manager, and;
- The company culture.
It’s often said that people leave managers not companies and it’s interesting to see that even with technological advances and flexible working hours (both of which can mean less face time with managers) the relationship employees have with their managers is still crucial.
So we’re back to the same concept……. it takes many, many small actions, made every day to develop a positive relationship between a manager (or leader) and their team.
Leadership and change
I also liked the concept from the post The Single Biggest Difference Between Leaders and Managers which suggests that “Regardless of whether your formal position or job title classifies you as a leader or manager, it’s your mindset, and the resulting behaviours, that identify you as one or the other.” and even better…
“Leaders proactively initiate change to improve the organization, whereas managers deal with change on a reactive basis.”
So how about it…..are you a leader?
So being a leader is all about attitude, making the most of every opportunity to make a difference (no matter how seemingly insignificant) and proactively seeking change to make your business better.
And no matter what your position, it’s never too early to start developing leadership skills in your veterinary team! (this last post is one from me).
