Coach, Command and Create

Dateline: December 4, 2015

Welcome to our Friday WRAP – one thought-provoking idea to think about over the weekend.

We all have worked for good, and bad, leaders.  Recently, I ran across a blog by Dr. Greg Alston, educator and pharmacist, who nicely summarized what he calls the 3 Secrets to Successful Leadership. Dr. Alston suggests that

Good leaders understand that modern employees are different than 19th century factory workers. They need to be managed in a way that makes them feel good about where they work and what they do.

To do that, Dr. Alson identifies three modes of behavior each leader must master.

Coach Mode:   The first secret skill good leaders must have is the ability to coach their teams. They must be able to build the knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities in their team that the team needs to succeed.  To do this, they must understand where they are headed, be flexible enough to adapt to the motivational needs of each employee, and learn to apply the right motivational technique at the right time for the right person.

Command Mode:   A good leader must learn to take command when he/she needs to, but also know how to avoid micromanaging. A leader must act to keep the team on task without concern for popularity or consensus.  To excel as a commander, the leader must live the mission of the organization, must understand the context in which events are playing out in real time, and must make the right call for the current conditions.

Create Mode:  And the third mode — which holds everything else together — is that the good leader must create an environment in which the team can thrive. Good leaders encourage their team to seek new and better ways of doing things while simultaneously removing the artificial barriers to their success.

How well do you handle the coach, command and create modes?  For which of these modes do you see room for self-improvement?

That’s a WRAP!  Have a great weekend!

Speak Your Mind

*