“I have learned so much about the business but I have never been taught how to lead.”
This is a real quote from a real client who runs multiple large pieces of business at an agency.
Learning the business is different than learning to lead others
You may run an advertising agency and have stellar people leading your businesses, but are they as good in leading their team? Some people have natural ability to inspire others, but not everyone.
I believe that all great leaders have one thing in common; they have followers — people who are inspired by their vision and the results they are achieving. But it takes even more than vision and results to have people trust you and want to follow you.
The 3 “P’s” of Leadership
I believe that there 3 critical components of leadership. I refer to them as the 3 “P’s”. They are:
Passion: This is your vision – one that is important and relevant to others. It is what you communicate consistently and relentlessly to excite and inspire your people.
Performance: This is your ability to consistently deliver results for your team, your clients and your agency
Persona: This is your style and your “emotional intelligence” — how you lead — and it is vitally important to your success.
Your Persona is the 3rd facet of leadership that is often left untaught. Agency people spend a lot of time learning the business, learning how to deliver results. They don’t always spend the same amount of time or have the right teachers to learn the “softer skills” of leadership.
Your Emotional Intelligence is key to your success as a leader
According to the introduction to the Harvard Business Review article “What Makes a Leader”, Daniel Goleman was the person who first brought the term Emotional Intelligence to a wide audience with the publication of his book of the same name. While Goleman believed that traditional qualities of leadership such as intelligence, toughness, determination and vision, are critical, they are not enough. He put forth that truly effective leaders also have a high degree of “emotional intelligence”. Goleman determined that five key skills are the components of EI. They are:
-Self-Awareness – knowing your own strengths, weaknesses, values & goals
–Self-Regulation – controlling or redirecting disruptive impulses & emotions
–Motivation – understanding what drives you and leveraging this
–Empathy – considering others’ feelings especially when making decisions
-Social Skills – managing relationships and being able to move people in desired directions
Goleman believed that Emotional Intelligence can be learned, and I believe the same. However, the process to learn the key components of EI takes time and most importantly, commitment. It takes being open to hearing how others perceive you and the impact you make on them. It takes practice and willingness to try on new behaviors. It often takes a good coach or mentor.
Taking your team to the next level of leadership
If you want to learn more about how to develop your next generation of leaders via helping them develop their emotional intelligence, visit www.bloommentoring.com. And sign up for the bloom newsletter today.