Catherine Medhurst says that great leaders are not afraid to use the f-word — but perhaps not in the way we might first imagine.
As a leader, how often does the f-word enter your thoughts or your vocabulary?
Whether it is in your thinking or language, to use the f-word takes courage.
Great leaders show empathy and the f-word they use is ‘feelings’.
If you bring your authentic self to work, then you bring your feelings too and so do your team.
Emotions and feelings influence our actions; and our actions influence the results we achieve.
Great leaders learn to recognise, use, understand and manage the feelings and emotions in themselves and others to gather insights and unlock performance potential.
Still not sure you should be embracing your feelings as a leader? Let’s do an exercise.
Think of a leader who influenced you in a positive way — hopefully there’s a few to consider.
Now think of a leader who influenced you in a less than positive way — you probably still learned a lot from this person.
Can you remember exactly what each person said to you?
More likely than not, the specifics of what was said have been eroded by time.
Possibly one of the first thoughts you have at the mention of this person, is a memory of how you feel after being in their presence.
This feeling may lead to a smile, underpinned by happiness and energy to perform at your best.
Alternatively, this feeling may lead to a grimace, despondence and a bitter after-taste.
American poet, author, and Civil Rights activist, Maya Angelou summarised this experience when she said:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Think about the leader who positively influenced you.
Did you feel valued, empowered, encouraged, committed to the team goals and clear on the success milestones?
If yes, these feelings (not withstanding your technical competence) positioned you as more likely to experience higher levels of performance success and engagement in that environment.
When you lead your team in this way it will be mobilised to deliver results that create value for your organisation.
Now think back to the leader who left you with the bitter after-taste.
During this period, did you feel confused, fearful, under-valued, and frustrated?
If yes, you were facing an uphill battle to perform at your best in that environment.
You may have achieved results but the legacy feeling is not one that motivates you towards sustained high performance.
Understanding how you’re feeling now, and how you want to feel in the future, is a powerful step in achieving your personal and career goals.
If you can start with understanding yourself, imagine the impact you will have on your team members when you can understand how they are feeling.
As a leader, how and what you say, and your behaviour, will impact how others feel.
How people feel at work will impact how they perform at work.
How someone performs at work will impact how your clients feel and this will ultimately influence your organisation’s overall performance.
As a leader, how are your feelings impacting your performance?
Do your team members feel empowered, valued and engaged or confused, frustrated and disengaged?
Is your leadership legacy generating energy to perform or a bitter after-taste in those around you?
Are you ready to be a leader who uses and understands the f-word at work?
*Catherine Medhurst is a Brisbane-based human resources professional who can be contacted at linkedin.com
This article first appeared on LinkedIn
