A High-Level Leadership Question
I want to give you a simple, high-level leadership question you can ask every day that could significantly enhance the way you lead. This question is for everybody. Corporate executives. Low-level managers. Teachers. Parents. Teenagers. Anyone who has any measure of influence.
How can I help you succeed at something today?
It’s simple, but this question could change the standard approach to leadership that many people take:
Cast vision. Set goals. Demand success. Wait for results.
Sounds good and authoritative. Something a leader would do. But the problem is that sometimes the deck is stacked against your people from the get go. Sometimes for one reason or another, they can’t accomplish what you’re asking for and what they genuinely want to give you. And because they can’t succeed, neither can the goals or vision you’re striving after.
Before the success of your goals can be realized, the success of the people you lead must be prioritized.
Servant leadership has often been misunderstood. It isn’t doing menial tasks that take you away from your sweet spot. Servant leadership is essentially about equipping and empowering. Not scrubbing toilets. It’s about doing everything in your power to put the people you lead in a position where they can succeed.
And their success benefits everyone.
- They gain confidence in themselves and in your dedication to them.
- You are setup for success because they have been successful.
- The vision you have cast becomes attainable.
Make a commitment today to start asking how you can set others up for success.
If you’re a boss, ask your people if the systems you have in place are unnecessarily obstructing them from doing their job well.
If you’re a parent, rather than just demanding that your child do better in school, ask them how you can help them ace that upcoming test.
If you’re a husband, ask how you can create space for your wife to recharge spiritually so she can be everything she needs to be.
The question might create extra work for you. But the dividends it will pay will be worth it.
Read more from Steven here.
Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership Eng, Steven Furtick
