Start Strong, Stay Strong

Is it easier to start strong as a leader or to start tender? Which gives you the most payoff? Which gives you the most credibility?

Start strong.

I don't mean bossy. No one needs or wants you barking orders at them. By start strong I mea get a grip on what you want from your team and let them know. Coach, coach, coach every single team member from struggler to super star. Everyone.

Who benefits from coaching? Everyone. Get them the help they need to sharpen their skills and expand their capacity. Give them so much feedback that it becomes as natural as breathing. When you've reached that point -- when feedback (both sending and receiving) becomes as natural as breathing -- you are well on your way to a very strong team.

And isn't that what you want? How strong will your team get if you're not strong?

Your team looks to you for your strength. They draw inspiration from knowing that no challenge is too tough and no upper management person is too constraining to keep your team from achieving its goals.

Start strong. Stay strong.

Here are five key leadership strengths to begin with and develop:

Clarity: Knowing your mission completely and given it priority.

Courage: Say and do what you mean with resilience, reliability, and persistence.

Creativity: Find and use new ideas. Expand your possibilities. Make things better.

Compassion: Speak and act with kindness.

Centering: Take a mindful and balanced approach to your work and your relationships. Be here completely.

Team members will test you. They'll want to discover how much grief you'll take, how persistent you are in your expectations, how thorough you are in your feedback. If you are weak, quiet, and loose -- the team will become weaker, looser, less assured.

You don't need to have all the answers. But you can't be afraid to try.

It's not something you're ever finished with because there is so much growing to do and so much to learn. So why not start now?

What have you learned today?

-- Doug Smith

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