I've been learning that being proud of my leadership style can be counter-productive. I also learned that effective leadership includes not letting pride stand in the way of making changes.
The board of directors of my National Speakers Association Chapter (NSA-DC) is comprised of volunteers (I am also a volunteer). They are all busy keeping their businesses growing. So when they or others step forward to fill a need I assume that they will do as they say they will do.
If some time goes by and there's no movement, I will gently ask again. After some additional time I will considerately remind them again. When I have to remind them the third time, I will be more forceful. And then I will suggest that it would be better if I found a replacement.
By this time, several months could have gone by and the organization has been without this service.
My lesson? While I pride myself on being understanding and respectful I've been perceived as too patient and tolerant--and even a bit weak. "Oh, Susan won't get mad at me" or "You know Susan, she's always willing to wait. I'll get to it or not and she won't really care."
The people who count you as their leader need to believe that respect and expectations go together. I can respectfully question someone's volunteering. I can respectfully question someone's lack of actions. I can respectfully replace one person with another who is going to get the job done.
How do you respond to the challenge of being a respectful yet forceful leader?
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