Knowledge Base · Leadership
How do I model the behaviour I want my team to copy?
Your team is always watching whether your actions match your words, so do first what you ask of them. Be open to ideas if you want openness, take risks if you want experiments, and be transparent if you want honesty. Admit your own mistakes, talk openly about challenges, and thank people who surface problems instead of shooting the messenger.
Chapter 6 starts from an uncomfortable fact: as a leader, you are always on stage. Your team is always watching, whether you realise it or not. They watch to see if your actions align with your words, how you react under pressure, and whether you are willing to do what you are asking them to do. That is why you cannot just talk the talk. You have to walk the walk.
The matching is specific. If you want your team open to new ideas, you have to be open to new ideas. If you want them willing to experiment and take risks, you have to experiment and take risks yourself. If you want honesty and transparency, you have to be honest and transparent, which includes admitting when you have made a mistake, being open about the challenges you face, and making it safe for others to do the same.
One habit the chapter names is to clap up opportunities, a phrase from one of the author's old bosses. It means celebrating when problems are brought to the surface. Instead of shooting the messenger, thank them for their courage and honesty. A red flag raised is an opportunity to learn and improve. The book's suggested practice is to ask the team what is getting in their way, resist solving it for them, thank the person who raised it, and ask the team for its ideas on tackling it.
Related questions
- What is the leader's role in continuous improvement?
- How do I create a culture where people speak up about problems?
- How do I empower employees to improve their own work?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 6 (Cultivating Leadership for CI).