In Leadership, It's Vital That The Parents Get Along
When I began in a leadership role, I put all of my focus on people who I was leading, my team. They were my absolute top priority. I dedicated all of my time and energy into developing them, listening, talking, inspiring, motivating, and coaching them. They were my team, and I had to put them first or so I thought.
It wasn't long into my career when a mentor pulled me aside one day and told me that he loved my dedication and loyalty to my team but asked me what I was doing to nurture the relationships with my fellow leaders in the organisation. His subtle suggestion was that I was spending too much time focusing on my own team instead of focusing on my team of co-leaders.
At first, I defended my position to put my own team members first. They had to be my priority. They were depending on me as their leader but then I took some time to reflect on what he was saying.
Now, of course, your team members are important but are they the only people who you should be focusing on in your organisation?
Is the relationship with your peer leaders just as important or even more important to sustaining great results and growth?
It’s a bit like when you’re married with kids. As a parent, you want to develop, nurture and inspire your kids but if you focus all your time and energy only on them and not on your spouse (your co-leader), what happens? Your relationship with your spouse might break down which will in turn have an impact on your kids; the little people who you were trying to develop, nurture and inspire. In a family, it’s important that the two leaders have a strong cohesive happy relationship.
Similarly, in business, you need to nurture the relationship you have with your co-leaders. If these relationships are strained, the result will be:
Limited trust and understanding between teams
Unnecessary duplication of work and an increase in mistakes
The blame game played at every opportunity
Teams working in silos
A lack of big picture thinking and innovation
Possibly even sabotage where people feel a sense of loyalty to their own teams and achieving their own results at the expense of other teams
So, as a leader how can you build your relationship with other leaders?
Simply spend time getting to know the other leaders in your organisation personally – their stories, their drivers, their background. Invite them for a coffee or glass of wine.
Schedule in a formal catch up with your peer leadership group. It’s important that you have a forum to share your goals, obstacles and success stories.
Invite one of the other leaders to your regular team meetings. They can learn more about your team and your team can learn more about them.
When making team decisions, consider any impact on other teams and make sure to include them as appropriate.
Get out there and be visible as a leader in your organisation. Ask questions, get curious about others and at the same time, spread the word about your team members and their achievements.
When you build a strong relationship with your peer leaders, it will provide a solid foundation for your team in which to perform at their best. They will see the bigger picture and it will create loyalty and trust, not just to you as their leader but to the greater organisation, vision and purpose.
There will be mutual understanding and respect and a harmonious work environment with a culture of collaboration instead of competition. More opportunity for everyone. You win, your team members win and ultimately your clients win.
Midja x