Do you allow your team to do all the work? What if you didn’t? You see, if you always do the “and then some,” your team will do the same.
“Just enough” is never enough. If you want your team to go the extra mile, they have to see that you are willing to go the extra mile first. The Colonel modeled this truth to his daughters every day. We often called it “workaholism,” and maybe there was a measure of that, but he was always the first to arrive, the last to leave, and the first to put in extra effort to get the job done.
Many of your well-meaning, high-ranking colleagues will tell you that if you’re always putting in the extra effort, you are not taking advantage of the privilege of rank. They don’t understand. Significant leadership is not about sitting back and letting your team do all the work. A leader doesn’t have to do everything or be the best at everything, but a leader does have to be willing to do what needs to be done in order to achieve the goal for the team.
Sometimes, the “and then some” road is a lonely one, but it is the only road to excellence. In truth, some of your team may never join you on that road to excellence—and that’s okay. The ones who do step up to walk beside you are the ones who will themselves rise to leadership.
When your team sees you rolling up your sleeves and getting serious when they are on the verge of giving up, and when they see you doing more than you have to with an “attitude of gratitude,” they will be empowered and inspired to do the same.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.
