MedRecruit Leadership Programme - 2 - Character

LEADERSHIP  TRAINING  PROGRAMME  Session  Two:    

The  Character  of  Leadership  

Are  great  leaders  born  or  made?    

•  Bell  curve  •  Learn  the  characteris>cs  of  great  leadership  •  Different  styles  –  themes  of  character  

Integrous  Leadership  

•  The  founda>on  –  all  else  is  built  on  this  – The  integra>on  of  outward  ac>ons  and  inner  values  –  same  on  the  outside  as  on  the  inside  

– Transparent  –  what  you  see  is  what  you  get  •  Values/character  guide  decisions  •  Be  –  Do  –  Have  – Become  the  person  you  need  to  be  to  lead  – Your  team  will  model  your  behaviour  

Behaviours  that  build  integrity:    

•  Do  the  right  thing,  always  •  Do  what  you  say  you’re  going  to  do  •  Be  honest  in  your  conversa>ons,  even  if  the  truth  is  

uncomfortable  •  Deliver  clear  and  concise  messages  to  your  team  •  Only  make  promises  that  you  can  keep  •  Be  willing  to  deal  quickly  to  those  in  your  team  who  act  

without  integrity  •  Loyalty  to  the  company;  it’s  visions,  values  and  goals  •  Loyalty  to  your  team;  have  their  backs  •  Don’t  let  others  sway  you  away  from  ac>ng  with  integrity,  

whatever  their  posi>on  

Character  Traits  of  Great  Leaders    

•  Who  are  some  leaders  you  respect?  •  What  character  traits  do  they  demonstrate?  

12  Character  Traits  of  Great  Leaders    

1.  They  have  a  vision  •  The  vision  for  a  company  or  a  team  sets  the  focus,  it  liNs  people  up,  

and  it  inspires  them  to  excellence.    •  A  great  leader  not  only  creates  a  compelling  vision  they  also  

communicate  that  vision  in  a  way  that  people  can  understand  and  get  behind:  –  Learn  to  paint  a  picture  with  words  –  the  power  of  the  story.    –  Ask  each  of  your  team  to  tell  you,  in  their  own  words,  about  the  vision  

of  the  company  and  your  team.  How  close  is  it  to  what  you  thought  they  understood?  Is  your  team  on  the  same  page  as  you?  

–  As  you  work,  your  company  and  team’s  vision  should  be  in  your  mind  every  day,  and  you  should  reevaluate  it  occasionally  so  that  it  stays  current  with  the  changing  >mes  in  which  we  live.  And  remember,  your  team  needs  to  be  just  as  involved  as  you  in  keeping  it  up  to  date  if  you  truly  want  them  to  buy  in  on  the  vision.  Be  sure  to  keep  your  key  players  involved.  

2.  They  are  passionate    

•  Your  team  want  passion;  in  fact,  they'll  go  to  the  ends  of  earth  because  of  it.  People  will  live  and  die  for  it  such  is  the  desire  for  passion  in  our  lives.  Think  of  the  sailors  who  traveled  with  James  Cook  to  explore  uncharted  territory,  heading  into  the  unknown,  not  knowing  if  they  would  ever  return.  Their  leader’s  passion  inspired  them  to  put  their  very  lives  at  risk.  

•  To  build  an  extraordinary  team,  you've  got  to  light  the  ‘fire  in  their  bellies’,  to  get  them  to  feel  passion  about  the  company  and  connect  to  the  vision.  Passion  is  such  a  key  part  of  being  a  great  leader  that  if  you  don't  have  it,  you  simply  can't  be  a  great  leader,  because  if  you  don’t  have  it  you  can’t  expect  your  team  to  have  it.    

•  And  passion  is  infec>ous.  When  you  talk  about  your  vision  for  the  company  and  your  team,  let  your  passion  for  your  vision  shine  through.  Others  will  feel  it  and  want  to  get  on  board  with  you.  If  you  don't  have  passion  for  your  vision,  you  need  to  recreate  your  vision  or  reframe  your  descrip>on  of  your  vision  so  it's  connected  to  your  passion,  it’s  that  important.  

3.  They  are  BOLD  •  Nice  leaders  are  liked  by  everyone,  but  they  don't  have  the  

courage  to  say  what  needs  to  be  said,  and  they  are  therefore  weak  and  are  walked  all  over.    

•  Fierce  leaders  don’t  think  of  other  people’s  feelings  at  all  and  they  use  force  to  get  their  way;  they  aren’t  liked  and  as  soon  as  their  backs  are  turned  people  will  undermine  them.    

•  Bold  leaders  have  both  compassion  and  courage.  They  listen  to  people  and  are  compassionate  to  their  situa>on  and  their  needs,  and  they  are  courageous  enough  to  say  what  needs  to  be  said  and  to  do  what  needs  to  be  done.    

 Nothing  changes  un.l  the  unsaid  is  spoken  and  bold  leaders  understand  this  and  apply  it.  

4.  They  set  the  focus  •  Energy  flows  where  focus  goes.  Your  team  will  focus  

wherever  you  are  focussing,  so  a  great  leader  decides  consciously  where  to  focus,  and  hence  where  the  team  will  focus.    

•  The  importance  of  focus  is  to  get  people  to  take  ac>ons  that  move  them  towards  their  objec>ves,  and  the  company’s  objec>ves.  Therefore  you  need  to  make  sure  they  are  clear  on  both  their  objec>ves  and  the  company’s  objec>ves,  and  also  the  cri>cal  drivers,  which  are  the  ac>ons  they  must  take  to  make  progress.  

•  Effec>ve  focus  will  take  people  from  being  task  driven  to  being  outcome  driven  and  will  accelerate  their  progress  towards  achieving  your  company’s  goals.  

5.  They  are  great  team  builders  and  surround  themselves  with  great  

people    •  The  success  of  a  great  leader  is  not  an  accident,  and  most  

people  would  agree  it’s  not  a  testament  to  their  ability  alone.  They  consistently  surround  themselves  with  talented  people  and  build  that  talent  into  a  great  team.  They  are  not  afraid  of  hiring  people  who  are  be\er  than  them;  in  fact  they  welcome  it  because  they  know  it’s  cri>cal  to  achieving  progress.    

•  They  also  recognise  there  are  too  many  moving  parts  to  control  singlehandedly,  so  they  put  their  focus  on  what  they  do  best  and  delegate  appropriately.  Importantly,  they  delegate  to  people  who  have  demonstrated  competence  in  the  task  required.  

6.  They  are  open    

•  Great  leaders  are  open  to  new  ideas,  even  if  they  don’t  confirm  to  the  usual  way  of  thinking.  They  will  suspend  judgement  while  listening  to  new  ideas  and  will  welcome  ideas  that  aren’t  their  own.    

•  The  leader  who  thinks  they  have  to  come  up  with  all  the  good  ideas  is  severely  limi>ng  their  business.  By  being  open,  you  will  also  build  mutual  respect  and  trust  with  your  employees,  and  it  fuels  your  team  to  con>nue  to  come  up  with  new  and  be\er  ideas  to  further  your  vision.  

7.  They  set  the  standard  and  demand  accountability    

•  Great  leaders  set  a  standard  of  excellence  in  an  organisa>on.  As  General  Norman  Schwarzkopt  said,  “shined  shoes  save  lives”.    Great  leaders  understand  that  excep>ons  are  the  enemies  of  excellence  and  that  tolerance  of  slipshod  can’t  happen.  

•  Great  leaders  will  ins>l  a  culture  of  accountability  in  their  organisa>on,  that  is;  see,  own  it,  solve  it,  do  it.    

•  They  ensure  people  come  to  them  with  proposals  and  solu>ons,  not  just  problems.    –  Problem  +  3  Solu>ons  +  Proposal  –  Do  this  enough  and  people  will  start  to  figure  things  out  themselves  and  this  will  empower  them  to  be  their  best.    

8.  They  are  creaQve    

•  Crea>vity  is  the  ability  to  think  differently,  to  get  outside  of  the  box  that  constrains  solu>ons,  and  to  come  up  with  new  ways  of  looking  at  things  and  solving  problems.    

•  Great  leaders  have  the  ability  to  see  things  that  others  have  not  seen  and  thus  lead  followers  in  new  direc>ons.  Two  of  the  most  important  ques>ons  that  a  leader  can  ask  are,  "What  if…  ?",  and,  “What  more  can  we  do?”  

9.  They  are  great  decision  makers    

•  Great  leaders  make  decisions  quickly  and  are  commi\ed  to  those  solu>ons.  This  means  they  change  them  slowly,  but  that  are  not  so  ridgid  they  they  will  never  change  them.    

•  They  are  analy>cal  in  that  they  will  make  decisions  based  on  the  facts  at  hand,  but  they  won’t  over-­‐analyse  and  paralyse  themselves.    

•  They  will  be  thoughful  to  all  par>es  concerned,  but  they  won’t  become  obsessive  and  they  will  understand  that  they  can’t  please  everyone,  and  in  fact  that’s  not  their  goal.  

10.  They  are  magnanimous    

•  Great  leaders  give  credit  where  it  is  due.  A  magnanimous  leader  ensures  that  credit  for  successes  is  spread  as  widely  as  possible  throughout  the  company.  Conversely,  a  good  leader  will  take  personal  responsibility  for  failures.  This  sort  of  reverse  magnanimity  helps  other  people  feel  good  about  themselves  and  draws  the  team  closer  together,  and  causes  them  to  both  respect  and  trust  their  leader.    

•  To  ‘spread  the  fame  and  take  the  blame’  is  a  hallmark  of  great  leaders;  they  aren’t  looking  for  the  credit,  they  are  looking  for  the  results.    

•  They  acknowledge  people  and  say  ‘thank  you’.  

11.  They  are  engaged  in  their  surroundings  

•  Great  leaders  are  present  and  engaged  in  the  present  moment.  They  value  their  >me  and  that  of  others,  to  everyone's  benefit.  They  expect  structure  to  mee>ngs,  substance  to  discussions,  and  aim  to  stay  on  schedule.  In  exchange,  you  get  their  complete  a\en>on.  You  won’t  find  a  great  leader  tex>ng  while  they  talk  with  you.  

12.  They  seek  out  posiQve  energy  

•  Passionate  leaders  are  inherently  op>mis>c;  they  genuinely  believe  anything  is  possible  and  want  to  be  surrounded  with  people  who  are  enthusias>c  and  keep  them  inspired.    

•  Great  leaders  are  likely  to  be  openly  frustrated  when  there  is  a  roadblock  or  a  wave  of  nega>vity,  because  they  see  this  as  a  hindrance  towards  achieving  great  things.  They  have  no  >me  for  pessimism;  failure  is  not  an  acceptable  answer.    

•  A  great  leaders  believes  that  in  the  end  if  you  haven’t  achieved  what  you  need  to  achieve,  it’s  not  the  end.  

OUTCOME:  Trust  Without  trust  people  won’t  buy  100%  into  a  leader,  they  will  always  hold  something  back.  When  people  totally  trust  their  leader  they  will  follow  them  into  the  unknown,  which  is  where  leaders  need  to  go  to  forge  new  ground.    •  Integrity  –  honesty  and  truthfulness.    Doing  the  right  thing,  even  if  it’s  the  

thing  that  takes  the  most  effort.    And  it’s  doing  it  even  if  no  one  were  to  know  about  it.    

•  Competence  –  encompasses  an  individual’s  technical  and  interpersonal  knowledge  and  skills.    You  need  to  believe  that  someone  has  the  skills  to  carry  out  what  they  say  they  will.  

•  Consistency  –  relates  to  someone’s  reliability,  predictability  and  good  judgement  in  handling  situa>ons.    Inconsistencies  between  words  and  ac>ons  decrease  trust.  

•  Loyalty  –  The  willingness  to  save  face  for  another  person.    Trust  requires  that  you  can  depend  on  someone  not  to  act  opportunis>cally.  

•  Openness  –  Can  you  give  the  full  truth?    

Exercise    1.  For  the  next  twelve  weeks  focus  on  one  of  these  

character  traits  each  week  2.  Review  the  notes  on  that  trait  three  >mes  a  day  –  

once  when  you  wake,  once  at  lunch>me,  and  once  before  you  go  to  bed  

3.  Focus  on  that  trait  throughout  the  day  and  ac>vely  live  it  

4.  Ensure  that  every  week  you  master  the  trait  you  are  focusing  on  

5.  At  the  end  of  the  twelve  weeks  you  will  have  mastered  the  twelve  character  traits  to  become  a  great  leader  

Final  thought…  

“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we

never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most

people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master

anything in particular.” Anthony Robbins