KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU

 

Sacha: I was in Finland a few weeks ago hand feeding reindeer on a crisp early Spring morning. I was there with friends from all over the world I’d met at business school. Everybody loved patting the reindeer. Everybody loved leading the reindeer and learning about the way they’re raised in Finland. Not everybody loved eating the reindeer. When our guides asked ‘how was the reindeer?’, the answers ranged from ‘so cute’ to ‘very tasty’!

Tonia: I’ve been finding joy in all the best places. I’ve been exploring Te Awa River Ride along the mighty Waikato River on my new e-bike and dancing with friends at Womad music festival. I was so surprised to discover that I absolutely love the German Marching Band MEUTE while my friends were drawn to other stages to enjoy the best in banjos. (No judgement. Well, maybe just a tiny bit of judgement!) It’s been fascinating to reflect on how I recharge both by being with others in a big crowd and by myself, alone in nature.

People are different.

From day to day, from person to person. It’s a simple truth but we reckon as leaders of teams, companies and organisations it’s so easy to get tied up in process, performance, progress, perfection and profit that we forget the fundamental of people. Everyone is different and if you’re going to get the best out of those around you, you’ll need to tailor your approach to best suit their individual preferences, needs and motivations.

 

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everybody else.”
Margaret Mead

 

Start with the huMan in the Mirror.

It doesn’t matter if you use DISC,DESA, Dots, Myers-Briggs, Hogan, Five Factors, SEMA, Ancient elements, birth order, horoscopes or ‘which Friends character are you?’ to get some insight into what makes you tick – you just need to have a sense of what makes you operate the way you do. Understanding your own biases, preferences, default behaviours, strengths and values gives you a basis for then reflecting on others.

When you look in the mirror as a leader, what do you see? Instead of focusing on just the positives or negatives (disorganised versus organised), take each quality or characteristic and think about how each has both pluses and minuses. As an example Sacha is high energy and spontaneous. Super cool! Except when those same tendencies show up as loud and chaotic. Once you have a good handle on the range that you operate in, think about your team. Where do they sit? And how often do you take their individual preferences and needs into account?

• Do you email feedback when a coffee catch up might be appreciated?
• Do you never commit meeting summaries to writing leaving team members unclear on what’s been decided?
• Are you always the first to answer questions or give feedback leaving less air time for others?
• Do you hold your opinion back in case it’s ‘wrong’ and save your best ideas for another time robbing your team of the ability to bounce off your thoughts?

Over the next few weeks we’d love you to switch on the drones of self-awareness* and notice how often you are able to tailor your approach to better meet the needs of the people you lead.

Let us know how you go! We’re always up for a coffee catch up to talk leadership and understand more about your personal approach to working with others.

Onwards!

Sacha & Tonia

* Call us if want to know more about the drone of self-awareness