Knowing Me, Knowing You?

is day and age when you, as leader yell,Boomers v Generation X v Generation Yo Morning
“Charge!” and run into battle, thepeople v Evening peopleo Leaders v Followerso
chances are you are going to end up looking like Wile.Doers v Thinkerso Talkers v Listenerso Individuals v
E. Coyote after the Road Runner has finished withTeam Playerso Strategic v Unstructured?
him: singe marks on your ears, gunpowder all overOnce again, I have no doubt that to a certain degree
your face and stars and little birdies flying aroundyou are asking yourself, ”How far do I go
your head!with my levels of understanding and insight?”
Just because you yell ”Charge!”And once again my answer is in the form of a
doesn't mean others are going to follow your leadtwo-part question:-
and that call to arms."How good do you want to become as a leader and
Although leadership is a lot about the position youhow good do you want those you lead to become?"
hold, it also very much about the person you are.The more you know about those you lead the more
The person you are will show the people you leadeffective you will become as a leader.
how you will treat and deal with them. And how youI know we have gone through this subject of
deal with them will have a huge influence on howawareness and understanding previously.
effective your leadership will be.However, I strongly believe this to be one of the
Really knowing and understanding the people youkeys to effective relationships and therefore, vital to
lead is a significant aspect of effective leadership.the development of you as a leader and to the
• Knowing their wants and needsdevelopment of the people you lead.
• Knowing their goals and aspirationsIt becomes a two-pronged attack. In one way totally
• Knowing their circles of influenceopposed, but on the other side there is synergy.
• Knowing their motivatorsOn one side you are The Teacher, you are The
• Knowing their de-motivatorsLeader, you are The Coach: You help people see
• Knowing their likes and dislikesopportunity; you teach people skill; you provide them
• Knowing their energy cycleswith experience; you increase their ability and their
All of this and so much more can come aboutconfidence.
without asking them one single question. It can all beBut on the other side, you are The Student: the
gained from your observations and levels ofstudent of the people you lead.
awareness.They teach you about how they think, what they
A lot of this is at the micro-level, but what about atbelieve, why they do the things they do, and where
the macro level? What differences exist within thetheir levels of confidence and belief are at.
people you lead that can and will influence who theyThey will show you what they are going to do in the
are, what they do, and how they do it?future, by what they have done in the past.
This macro level of understanding is another levelYou will take them forward and do a great job
that you as a leader need to know, and know well.simply by what you know. However, you will take
What are the differences between:o Male andthem a lot further and a lot higher when you know
Femaleo Young and Oldo Experienced andthem.
Inexperiencedo Front Office and Back Officeo Baby