A great company must have good leaders. Not only that, everyone in the organization, regardless of title or position on the organizational chart – should have an opportunity to lead. Driving this culture in an organization has always been proven to produce effective results.
There are lots of pathways for successful leadership. For this write-up, I would like to share “George Washington’s popular leadership model,” which is Listen, Learn, Help and then Lead.
Listen.
To become a good leader, you must be a good listener. To be a good listener, you have to be 100% present, not just physically but mentally as well. It is about listening and creating a safe space for other people to share their thoughts and their whole story without being judged.
Learn.
Good leaders are extraordinary learners. But to be a good leader, it does not mean that you have to know everything. You don’t have to know every new challenge the organization is facing. What’s important is that a leader knows when to admit what he does not know but is willing to find out and learn the answer. It is always okay to say that, “I don’t know for now but I will find out and get back to you.”
Help.
After listening and learning, it is time to understand what needs to be fixed. As a leader, your job is to help out by giving solutions to the problem. This is done usually by giving your people roadmap, tools, and encouragement to do it themselves.
Then, Lead.
The goal of leadership is to use the information you learned and make it useful to the people you are supporting. True leadership is using your skills and knowledge to help others succeed in their own game.
This framework is no frills but is most definitely stable. A good and true leader starts from being a good listener and using what you have learned to formulate solutions. It is about knowing the way and showing people the way.