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EMS Leadership – Not doing it all yourself: Part Two 

By Lisa Giruzzi

create other leaders 290 x 290[If you haven’t read Part I, check it out]

In order to not do it all yourself you must have reliable motivated people around you that you can delegate to. Consider, if you don’t have those people around you it’s a function of how you are leading, i.e., it’s you, not them. This is good news because all you have access to really changing is yourself.

Below are three areas to develop in order to be the leader people WANT to follow:

Integrity

Integrity is the most crucial of all the aspects of being a leader people want to follow. If you don’t have reliable people around you, consider your integrity is the problem not theirs.

Integrity is a term that most people equate with honesty and morality and it is seen as a “fixed” state, i.e., either you have integrity or you don’t. What if instead integrity had more to do with honoring your word? Said another way, to have integrity means that you “walk your talk,” i.e., your words and your deeds (actions) match.

Effective leaders are those who do what they say by when they said it would be done and if they fail to do so, they acknowledge the broken promise and deal with the impact of the failure on others as well as re-promise when appropriate. Effective leaders do not take their words for granted. They recognize that if they dishonor their word they will lose the respect of others as well as their self-respect.

Consider each time you break a promise or act inconsistent with who you say you are, you are diminished in your own eyes and in the eyes of others unless you acknowledge the break in integrity and deal with the impact of your broken promise.

Without integrity, it is impossible to be an effective leader. Integrity is the foundation on which everything else is built and nothing will have a bigger impact on your organization than integrity.

Stop Should-ing on Others

Shoulding is a common phenomenon. We all think we know the right way to do everything and we are very happy to share our opinion whether wanted or not. If we hear about or see someone with a problem we say some version of, “You should do it this way or you shouldn’t do it that way.” We hate when people should on us but we love to should on others. We think it’s being helpful but mostly it’s not. Consider that in reality there is more than one way to do virtually everything. There are many paths to a successful outcome so instead of “shoulding” be open to others ideas and solutions. Empower those around you to develop strategies for a positive result.

Coaching vs. Telling

Shoulding and telling are similar in that telling involves giving your opinion as “the right way” but it also includes telling people what to do rather than requesting they do something. Regarding being a leader, telling people what to do can be off-putting. It can come across as demanding and forceful.

Coaching is a whole other domain. As a leader, coaching is a tremendous tool for developing leaders and creating a team of reliable, motivated people. Coaching seeks to uncover options for resolution vs. finding the “one right way” of doing it.

In order for coaching to be effective it is necessary to understand the underlying premise of coaching:Intro to Coaching eBook cover

  • The coach and coachee (person being coached) are equals
  • Issues are resolvable
  • Resolve issues inside of a commitment
  • Workability vs. right/work
  • Experimentation, i.e., trial and error are ok, culture of learning

Remember, in coaching your job is not to be the expert giving advice; you are the co-creator of a successful outcome.

To learn more about coaching CLICK HERE.

In summary

Consider that doing it all yourself robs those in your organization from developing into leaders and you limit the effectiveness of your organization because one person can only do so much. Instead of expending all your energy on doing it all yourself and burning out, look for ways to empower those around you to step up and cause something. This one act will create a much more sustainable organization.

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Lisa Giruzzi


Lisa is a best-selling author, result-producing consultant and an award-winning trainer with more than twenty-five years’ experience helping individuals and organizations to be more successful and achieve their goals. She specializes in causing breakthrough results for her clients by giving them access to a whole new level of power and performance.

Lisa Giruzzi

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