Counterintuitive practices of great leaders: Leading beyond the ordinary

There are several practices of wise leaders that are counterintuitive to how people usually think and act. However, these counterintuitive practices can help you build incredibly strong, resilient, and loyal teams. 

First is the practice of holding staff with an open hand. We breed resentment when we hold on to staff and make it difficult for them to move on or explore other opportunities. On the other hand, if we always tell them that we want the absolute best for them, whether with our team or on another, you breed loyalty. Those who are willing to let go find that people actually stay longer!

Second, developing staff to their maximum potential, even though it may mean they eventually leave your organization because you have developed them beyond your ability to challenge them. This willingness to develop others comes from a conviction that leadership is a trust, and a major part of that trust is building capacity into others - not to benefit you specifically but to help others use their God-given gifts to their fullest potential. This is an unselfish view of leadership development that benefits your staff, your organization, and others that your staff may end up serving.

Third, giving leadership opportunities away to qualified individuals rather than keeping them to yourself. This is counterintuitive because leadership opportunity also equals power and authority in the minds of many. Most leaders tend to guard rather than share leadership opportunities. It is counterintuitive to lift others up as we are often naturally selfish. Doing so, however, extends our own influence as we allow others to lead. 

Fourth, encourage people to speak their minds even when disagreeing with your ideas or thinking. The ability of others to engage in robust dialogue where any issue can be discussed, with the exception of personal attacks or hidden agendas, actually brings the best thoughts to the table. Leaders must overcome their insecurities to encourage robust dialogue, but they get the best from their people when they do. Letting others speak their minds even when they contradict our ideas is powerful and counterintuitive.

Fifth, encourage staff to accomplish their jobs in their own way (not how we would do it) within specified boundaries. Empowerment means letting go and unleashing others to use their creativity and gifts in their own way. It is hard for leaders to let go, but when they do, they get the best out of their staff—if they choose them wisely. Micromanagement breeds resentment, while empowerment breeds great loyalty.

One of my convictions is that conventional wisdom is always conventional but not always wisdom. The best leaders think differently than conventional leaders, and their counterintuitive practices reflect nonconventional thinking. 

A profound leadership principle that many don't understand

   Leaders must transition from being responsible for the job to being responsible for the people who are responsible for the job.     

Simon Sinek

This truth from Simon Sinek is profound. Too many leaders get trapped into trying to do the job they used to do or trying to accomplish the mission their organization is responsible for and lose sight of the fact that doing the job is no longer in their job description. As a leader, their new job is to build into and be responsible for the people who are responsible for the job. 

Many leaders will not do this because it is counterintuitive to them. For many, to be the leader is to get the job done - themselves if necessary.

But, in becoming a leader, our job shifts in important ways.

It is the move from focusing on my work to focusing on those who are doing the work. This includes:

• Providing maximum clarity to your team about what the organization is about, where it is going, and how it will get there.
• Ensuring that all your team is on the same page and going in the same direction.
• Mentoring, coaching, and helping your team be successful.
• Creating a high-impact team of healthy individuals working synergistically together under good leadership with accountability for results.
• Training new leaders.
• Ensuring your team has the necessary resources to get their job done.

Notice that these activities are not about our doing the job but investing in those who do the job. 

These are the leaders that the staff want to work for! And these are the leaders who get stuff done by helping their team be successful. Be that leader!

TJ Addington is the lead at Addington Consulting. We solve dysfunctional cultures and teams and help you build healthy, scalable organizations of clarity, alignment, and results. If the pain is high, you need Addington Consulting. tjaddington@gmail.com

tjaddington@gmail.com