This week, I was invited to give a talk about Leadership at the CIO London Event.
It was a fab event, thoroughly enjoyed it… and sharing one of the slides as my Friday thought…
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Tag: leadership
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Didn’t they do well….
Let’s be honest.. hasn’t it been a great Summer so far, especially with the FIFA World Cup!
All the surprises… who would have thought Germany would’ve gone out during the group stages… or that Croatia would’ve made it to the Finals?
Or how’s about, England making it to the Semi Finals? I know… although there was a moment we all thought that the finals were ours… we did very well in Russia this summer.
But most in particular for me, it came down to one thing. Leadership.
That’s right… the leader, the manager, the person in charge. Mr. Southgate.
Couple of things that really stood out for me….. (that made it a bit magical).
1. The Passion.
A normally quiet kind of guy… composed and not necessarily always full of emotions… however, the passion was there.
When we won, there was a moment when Gareth would walk over to the fans and really encourage them… Thank them…. show the passion!
And this filtered down to the players. They played with passion. They stepped up and that’s one of the reasons why the England team did well.
2. The Experience
We know he’s been there. He’s experienced heart ache. He’s got the scars and the stories.
You have to have been through those times, those difficult times…. where either things haven’t gone right and/or you know what could’ve made it better.
And it’s that…that helps you learn. Make things better for the future. With experience…. comes that knowledge.
3. Humanity
There were several other words I could’ve used. Compassion. Kindness. Sympathy…..
After the Semi Final game…. Gareth, hugged each devasted player. Hugged the staff.
After the majority had gone home. Hugged his wife. It’s this quality that shows he cares. Deep down… he cares. It matters to him. A lot.
Even at the press conference, thanked the players, the staff, the fans – especially those who travelled over… thanked Russia for hosting such a wonderful World Cup, thanked everyone.
Thank you Gareth. You exceeded expectations.
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A Leader Leads by Example…
Last week I was in lovely Stockholm. At a Leadership Meeting.
At the meeting, we had our Chief Executive share a short presentation – well, in fact, he didn’t have any slides… he just spoke.
There were a few things he said, that really resonated with me, and some phrases he shared that I wrote down.
You could be thinking – Well Bal… Leaders are meant to say things and share things that should resonate and folk write down. That’s why they are leaders.
True. But I’ve seen leaders previously… to whom, i’d listen to. But wouldn’t have the urge to write anything down.
This then got me thinking. In general. About Leaders…. Leadership behaviours, Leadership traits, etc… How should a Leader be?
There’s lots of traits a leader should have… Let’s take Mr Steve Jobs. One of the most well known leaders of recent times… what were the components of his leadership?
That last one… Effective Communication! – That’s the key one in my opinion. One of the most important ones.
I appreciate leaders have a lot going on. Emails, calls, meetings, presentations, etc… then there’s the day job! But what is important is having the ability to communicate.
But it’s not just communicate, but effectively communicate.
For example, I’ve heard one of our leaders previously say…. “that people are important in an organisation“. Yes – agreed, they’re important. He then went on to say, “how we have to value them and treat them fairly. ” Agree. We should. goes without saying, right?… he then shared, “sometimes, you have to make decisions which impact people” – that is true, maybe moving people around the organisation, changing roles, reduced hours, etc… change can happen. “and it’s when looking and making these decisions, we have to ensure, people are treated fairly“.
It’s not always about telling a story, but being clear and concise on the message. Allowing the audience to take away the key take away’s without you having to say, here’s the key take away’s!
And a good leader does this by example.
If he’s treating people fairly, the people below him will treat their people fairly, and so on… If the leaders are doing what they are saying, then the element of trust can build.
You probably know how I like to link sports to business.
In sports, and i’ll focus on football… you have some great leaders. Either on or off the pitch.
On the pitch, they can be visible. With their behaviours. Their attitude. Their style. But most importantly, with their communication.
Don’t forget, communication can be both, verbal and non-verbal.
Actions speak louder than words.
So if you are a leader, or aspiring to be a leader… firstly, take note of the above components – embed them into your day to day activities and long term goals… (you might be wondering, Bal… how do I learn how to communicate… well… there’s courses… and these days, you could probably do what I do, and jump onto YouTube and watch some of Steve Jobs presentations… or watch a video of people sharing top tips on how to communicate) – but remember, it’s also about non-verbal as well. Secondly… watch the video below of Carlos Puyol. His leadership behaviours are a great example to follow…