UNITED STATES
Load Pad Leadership by Michael Rutledge PART 2
“Nobody will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it” Andrew Carnegie-
If your employees feel accomplished at their respective jobs they achieve personal satisfaction, it’s a win all around.
B 6 | agairupdate.com
“Why do I need to try to be a better leader?” It’s a valid question particularly if whatever technique you’ve used so far has resulted in a successful career. There are actually several legitimate, practical answers to the question, but we’ll highlight the ones which have the most immediate benefits. In simple terms we want to be more productive while minimizing supervision which, in turn, ultimately means more profitability. The inevitable, positive ripple effects include improved team cohesion and higher individual skill levels. If your employees feel accomplished at their respective jobs, they achieve personal satisfaction. It’s a win all around. If we were to describe our end goal it would be to become Servant Leaders; employers and business owners who grow and promote the well-being of those who work for us, rather than viewing them as just a necessary component to our success. For any of this to gain traction you may have to arrange your motivation and priorities in a different order. We have to buy into the concept that our success is directly proportionate to the effort put forth empowering team members to become more capable and successful in their own right. The road to becoming a better leader is understanding the techniques and qualities which make us more effective in getting our team’s best performance. As we discussed in Part 1, developing sound leadership tools is a learning process. If you’ve had the privilege of working with or for someone who’s a gifted leader, I guarantee they weren’t born a Jedi. It took several years and failed attempts to hone the technique. Along the way they learned either formally or by trial and error which characteristics make effective leaders. The following qualities aren’t all inclusive, but they’re most commonly found in those who run efficient and tight-knit organizations. Setting the Standard: Being in charge is tough, if it were easy everyone would be successful. The
most significant challenge is leading from the front and being credible. To do this we have to set the example in everything from technical expertise, work ethic, as well as being a moral compass; and it’s a sizable responsibility. This point spills over into mentorship, but in many ways leading goes hand in hand with mentoring. We can’t ask anyone to do something we’re not willing to do ourselves. If your team knows that, you’ll earn their respect. You don’t have to be an expert at everything but acknowledge the talents others bring to the table and some humility goes a long way in developing relationships. It also doesn’t mean you always have to sweep the hangar, drag a load hose, or get dirty under an airplane to make your point; they just need to know you’re capable and willing to do so if needed.
The road to becoming a better leader is understanding the techniques and qualities which make us more effective in getting our team’s best performance. Integrity and Trust: This is possibly the most impactful trait which determines the cohesiveness of your team. We may not realize it, but our reactions to various situations are always being observed; good or bad. Your people have to be able to trust what you tell them. Failure to follow through on a commitment or something you said you’d do and it’ll have lasting negative effects. Our employees also pay close attention to how we conduct business. The ethics they see us use will likely be adopted to form their own operating standards. In short, if you lie or they don’t believe what you say, even to someone else, you’ll never ever earn their trust and in turn their full ➤
