Leadership Beyond the Head Seat

“GOOD LEADERS BUILD PRODUCTS. GREAT LEADERS BUILD CULTURES. GOOD LEADERS DELIVER RESULTS. GREAT LEADERS DEVELOP PEOPLE. GOOD LEADERS HAVE VISION. GREAT LEADERS HAVE VALUES. GOOD LEADERS ARE ROLE MODELS AT WORK. GREAT LEADERS ARE ROLE MODELS IN LIFE.”

— ADAM GRANT, WHARTON PROFESSOR AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

IN THIS MONTH’S issue of 3PL Perspectives we are talking about leadership and the lessons we can all learn from the good, the bad and the great leaders. In my career, I have been fortunate to come across all types of managers and leaders and that has shaped me into the leader I am and strive to be daily. Some may scratch their head and ask, “Even the bad leaders?” and I resoundingly say YES! It is from them you learn what kind of leadership inspires you and what deflates you.

The Adam Grant quote here is spot on when it comes to describing the characteristics of great leadership. Many of us strive to be a great leader, wherever we are in our careers. While “leadership potential” seems like a rare gift, in reality, it can be fostered and promoted in all of us and those of us at the top of our organizations must do our due diligence to ensure that we are not only growing our profit margins but also growing our people.

Leading people is probably the hardest part of this role for me. It is not because the actual job is hard (creating and making budgets, driving the legislative agenda, ensuring my team is doing the very best we can for our members, etc.), but because as a leader you just can’t do your day-to-day tasks and call it a day, you also have to build and mold your people and your organization. I bet every CEO in this industry will tell you that 40 percent of their job is running a successful company, but 60 percent is ensuring you are hiring and developing the very best teams to ensure your success. From your leadership teams to your newly hired assistants, a great leader knows how to impart knowledge and direction and offer the support needed for your employees to not only survive the daily grind of their jobs but thrive in the environment. A great leader also knows that it cannot be solely about them – it has to be mainly about supporting the team.

As leaders it is our role to encourage and, at times, push employees out of their comfort zone so they can grow. There is an old saying about most jobs, especially starting out in your career: it takes three years to move on. The first year is spent learning the job; the second, mastering the job; and the third, realizing you have outgrown your job. Change is hard and some people resist it but if you are a great leader, you will be able to help these employees to move on to bigger and better things and they will thank you for it in the end.

Leadership takes emotional intelligence. We can all pull out spread sheets and plot a financially profitable course for our companies, but how are we at helping our employees grow as experts and professionals in their field? Some would think that is not their job. Their job is to hire people, lay out the job expectations and let them get on with it. However, if you want to be successful as a leader you must take a holistic approach to your team and company. Great teams lead to bigger profits. When employees know that you are invested in their success and they understand how they fit into the bigger picture of your company, everyone wins.

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as we did reading all the different perspectives about what makes a great leader. There are little nuggets that you can take on today to build your leadership skills. Even those in the corner office have room to grow and learn.

I would love to hear your feedback on what you think makes a great leader. Feel free to send me your thoughts at reinke@tianet.org.

Until next time, if there is anything you need from TIA to help you and your company grow, give us a call.