Leaders are most needed in chaos and uncertainty. Leadership is always about orchestrating a better future. This does not only apply to the enterprise they lead, or the cause they champion. This starts with their team.
The ultimate purpose of leadership is warding of darkness and chaos. For them to effectively do that, the vehicle through which they accomplish this must be without darkness or chaos. This vehicle is the enterprise and or its teams.
An organization or team without a leader will come apart at the seams, allowing the darkness or problem they were supposed to solve to prevail.
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The presence of leaders is most critical in times of turmoil and uncertainty. Leaders are there to point the way. You cannot team will flounder in your absence.
The presence of the leader is critical when a team is frustrated. When your team is frustrated that is when you need to be most accessible. Frustration makes teams vulnerable. When anything is at its vulnerable state it needs a little more attention and care.
When your team is frustration don’t go AWOL. There are two kinds of leaders’ absence that will destroy teams, robbing their cause of champions.
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The physical presence of a leader is important. Your team must have contact with you. Your visibility is important. Delegation / giving responsibility to your team allows your team to focus on what they are best at. It also trains leaders to lead. However, giving responsibility doesn’t mean abandonment.
Related: Why Leaders Should Spend Time In The Trenches With Technical Teams
Leaders’ visibility inspires. A real or good ol’ pat-on-the-back, literally, still means a lot. When leading a frustrated team remember to be visible and do all you can to be physically present and visible.
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There’s a subtle absence that leaders overlook when their teams are struggling. This is the present yet absent leaders. The leaders is physically present but he’s elsewhere. Parking your body and teleporting elsewhere does not solve your teams’ challenges nor ease their pressure.
Leader, be present. Be there. Focused. Attentive. Listen and listen intently. Your presence means nothing if it is only physical. It is also useless if you’re not exploring solutions with your team. It is pointless if you’re ignoring the frustration and its cause.
Be present. Miss nothing. The leader’s presence must be unmistakable and tower over the frustration. That you are concerned and acting against frustration allows your team to focus on what they should be and not the frustration or its cause.
Leader, I’ll say it again be present. Many problems and altercations can easily be overcome and avoided when leaders are present. Really present. Leader, be present. Really present.
This is part 4 of the series on Leading A Frustrated Team. If you haven’t already, check out:
Cool | Leading A Frustrated Team [Part 3]
Hear | Leading a Frustrated Team [Part 2]
Ignore? | Leading a Frustrated Team [Part 1]