For the past 5 days I have been reading this book, “The Leadership Challenge” by Kouzes & Posner which inspired my posts this week.
Kouzes & Posner listed these 5 practices of exemplary leadership:
- Model the Way
- Inspired a Shared Vision
- Challenge the Process
- Enable Others to Act
- Encourage the Heart
Among the 5 of them the one closest to my heart (no pun intended) is no. 5. When I was reading my 360 survey report, one constructive feedback from my team stood out to me. She wrote, “Overall, nothing more but would like if she could celebrate team efforts and provide team recognitions.”
I must admit, I was one of those leaders who was quite kedekut with compliments. The operative word is “was” because that feedback she had written was a good wake-up call for me.
So for the past 2 years I have been working on it to be more generous with my praises. Learning also from “The Daily Carrot Principle” by Gostick & Elton, when I express my appreciation on the team’s excellence, I will be as specific as I can, personalizing my messages from my heart. It is not only motivating for them, it also fills up my aura with all these heartwarming positive juju that perks up my day daily.
Anyways, in the last chapter of “The Leadership Challenge”, it states “Leadership is Everyone’s Business.” I do agree. It’s not only limited to managers or directors or presidents but for all walks of life because to quote from the book, “Leadership is about relationships, about credibility, and about what you do. And everything you will ever do as leader is based on one audacious assumption: that you matter.”
Happy weekend everyone. As I see more people are back out in the streets to contribute to the country’s economy, do continue to stay safe and adhere to safety SOPs. Because remember, we all matter.
Bimbo
