Leadership on the Ground; the Value of Experience

There’s a time for training your team, there’s a time for growing your team, and there’s a time when leaders need to get in the trenches with their team and lead by example.

Right now, we’re in a time that calls for a leadership presence on the ground and with this comes great opportunity.

Over the last few months, as my focus as a leader has shifted, I’ve learnt three valuable lessons that will inform the way we do business in the future.

1. A leader sets the tone for the rest of the team

John C Maxwell in his highly acclaimed book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership” says “When leaders do things, people copy them”. All great organisations communicate their vision and values to their team, but talking about it and seeing it in action are two very different things.  If you want your team to grab hold of the vision and demonstrate the values, you need to visibly model the behaviours on the ground.

2. Leadership presence strengthens client relationships

Our clients are experiencing turbulent times and when I show up and make myself available as a leader, it demonstrates our care and long term commitment to their success.  I’m dedicated to forging relationships beyond the transactional and ensuring our clients have access to the best advice in good times and in bad.

3. Leaders can turn panic into productivity

It’s easy for a business to zero in on the small metrics and tasks when times get hard.  Leading from the ground helps teams to pull back and remind themselves of the bigger picture outcomes.  On a daily basis, I’m helping my team move from ticking things off their to-do list to focus on outcomes that are aligned to our business mission and purpose.  This approach increases productivity and positivity across the whole organisation.

Leading from the ground during the Covid-19 crisis has strengthened our organisational culture, client relationships and prepared us as we move towards a new normal.  I firmly believe the way we face the challenges of today will inform the way we lead tomorrow.