I am sitting on the side of the room, watching my team. That’s what I do most of….I watch.
Usually I watch as someone else talks (watching while talking is not the same thing) and I learn so much. Who is comfortable, who is passionate, who is concerned. For me to keep an eye on words, tone, body language and side conversations, I know exactly when to lean back, when to step in, when to steer and when to keep silent.
I was asked this morning what my secret leadership skill is. Perhaps it is this: my geeky interest in communication, skills and strengths.
I wonder how much more I get out of my team, because I can immediately do what I just did: sent a little WhatsApp to my PM, as I watched him spending longer than expected on his iPhone 🙂
Most of the time I watch a finely tuned machine — based on respect for individual people and their strengths, interests and experience. The way the group collaborates and communicates, often broken up by joking and laughter!
Here is how we got to that and what you could do:
- Be clear on roles and responsibilities, and make sure everyone is appreciated for their personal skills
- Balance the agenda to make sure you build in parts of personal development and growth
- Self insight: not everyone is a great people leader: if you’re not, don’t beat yourself up. Find someone who is, and concentrate on what YOU are good at.
