The Secret Responsibilities of a Leader
July 17th, 2009 | 
Author: We all know about the usual list of responsibilities for a leader: develop a vision, motivate others, etc.
There are some responsibilities a leader must embrace in order to be the best at their craft that we don`t normally talk about, at least in this way. They may be discussed behind closed doors with a confidante or coach, but they are not usually on a list of goals or part of performance review discussions. It is rare that they would be part of a conversation with a leader`s boss. They are, after all, considered “soft”. They are also essential.
1. Develop others: it is rare for a leader to be held accountable for developing their employees. Even rarer is a requirement to develop their peers, their boss, their suppliers, etc. When you take the responsibility for developing everyone around you, you do the right thing for your organization and the people in it. Think beyond developing your employees ?€“ what would it mean to develop your boss? Your peers? (Yes, it is possible).
2. Promote a sense of community: When people in organizations are engaged with those around them, the creative thinking, motivation, and (not coincidentally) productivity increase. We are social creatures. We desire and need to connect with each other to be the best we can be. Your responsibility, as a leader, is to foster connectivity in order to create community. What actions can you take today to do this?
3. Assure inclusion: This duty goes hand in hand with promoting community, but it requires a bit more vigilance. What are you doing to assure that those who may feel left out are included in your community? Look around you for the quiet ones. Make sure they feel a part of the group and what is going on.
4. Celebrate successes and failures: Both are important, contrary to what is normally done in our organizations. Successes are rarely acknowledged from a celebratory standpoint. Start now. Failures are learning opportunities, so why not be grateful and celebrate what has been learned? A celebration can be large or small ?€“ it just needs to be done. What haven`t you celebrated with your team lately?
5. Let go and let the people around you do their best work: There is a lot of trust in being a leader. This means that you need to let them do the work in the way that makes sense for them. You are responsible for inspiring them, helping them to become motivated. What will it take for you to let go of the need to impose your way on what others are doing?
I`m certain this small list is only the beginning. What other secret responsibilities does a leader have?
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9 Responses to “The Secret Responsibilities of a Leader”
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As always, you make some great points here! I agree of course, with all your secret responsibilities and believe that they are more important than ever. I would also add just treating people like they are significant and make a difference, like they can handle things and be challenged, like you enjoy their presence! Some leaders are now trying out being more human in their role. If you can build a strong community, team, relationships your leadership will be far more effective. You also need to stop being afraid to hurt eachother's feelings (because there is respect and ways to take up disagreements), or afraid to challenge eachother to be at our best performance (because you celebrate success, failure and each person's contributions).
I love that your posts leave me thinking and exploring more. Thanks.
Wow, Monica – loved your adds to the list! You've made me think too. Thanks for stopping over and taking the time to add your depth to this.
In the organization I worked for, the soft skills you refer to were labeled "that warm and fuzzy stuff". To many,the skills you mention were too intangible for them to get a grip on and so invariably they went to the solidity and safety of the bottom line numbers.
I like the title of your post because the responsibility to participate in activities that develop others and promote community was not often talked about. Perhaps it was something filed under the heading of, "If you don't know what you are talking about, keep your mouth shut" Who knows?
But, the newer generation of worker will, I think, put pressure on leaders who place minor importance on these secret responsibilities, to be more forthcoming.
Perhaps too, if we were able to find a more effective way to measure these vital skills, they would get more attention from the general population of leaders.
A very thought-provoking post. Thank you Mary Jo
Great post, Mary Jo, though I'm not sure how "secret" this stuff is. True, "hard" skills seem to be more valued in the business culture than "soft" skills. But great leaders have always built relationships. In great organizations, like the Marines, great leadership includes accomplishing the mission and caring for the people. I'm sure not the only one, but I've been writing and talking about the importance of relationships and conversations in class and in my Working Supervisor's Support Kit. The only reason this stuff is secret is that the rest of us haven't talked about it enough.
Gwyn and Wally:
I agree, these are not responsibilities that we talk about. Wally has been talking about these things for some time. What effect would we see if we (those of us in a position to influence others) all started talking about them now? I must say, that when the door is closed and I am with a client, these are (some of) the things we talk about – and not because I begin the conversation about them, but because my clients do. There seems to be a real need to get them out into the open and to make our workplaces more humane.
Maybe I'm crazy. But I think the time is NOW to further this conversation. Thanks for stepping in.
Good points, Mary Jo. I think too much talking about "leadership" as an exalted moral position and not a kind of work, contributes to the problem. I think that the drive for everyone to be a self-proclaimed guru with a "fresh" take on leadership makes it worse. It's like scratching a sore. And I think that we live in a culture that values the new and the novel more than it values the restatement of proven truths. Put those together and you have a perfect storm of avoidance.
But ?€¦ I think it may be time for a change. I think that we will need to re-think how we get things done. I think the generation now coming into the workplace is willing to listen and the one just ahead of them is practical enough and experienced enough to hear the message. That's hope.
Reality is that I've been talking about this stuff for over twenty-five years now and I find there are more people today doing the same than there were back then. I don't intend to stop. I doubt that others intend to. And there seem to be more of us than there were only a few years ago.
The point about celebrating is interesting – anyway, how exactly would you celebrate failure?
Congratulations! This post was selected as one of the five best independent business blog posts of the week in my Three Star Leadership Midweek Review of the Business Blogs.
http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2009/07/22/72209-midweek-look-at-the-independent-business-blogs.aspx
Wally Bock
Letting go is probably my favorite point. Easy for leaders to forget its the followers that make them great. And that only happens when folks are left free to shine.