Don't send a duck to eagle school

Francesca Gino, associate professor at Harvard Business School, explains how quiet bosses with proactive teams can be highly successful.

Always be youself

Some people think they have to pretend to be someone they are not just to succeed, they just act the way they think other people expects them to act. And wile they may seem very successful, this people feel like a clown at a funeral.

One of the biggest characteristic any leader can have is authenticity.

Did you ever tried to force your kids into eating or bed? If you did I'm confident you were headed for a big fight from with you came very frustrated. Why are children so stubborn!

You can't change people, the same way you can't make them do anything they don't want to do. You can however create the desire for change, the same way you can create the desire for action. The only true way to accomplish this is by being authentic, clear, transparent, honest and coherent. People only follow leaders in with they trust. Sure there are other ways to make people want to take action, you can make them do it out of fear or out of necessity, but they will not truly follow you, at first change they will flee like rats in a sinking boat.

Should you give order or ask for advice?

Wile there are excellent leaders that are very assertive giving orders to their followers, this is a kind of leadership that demands a lot of the leader, and very little of the followers. In this situation the followers are comfortable waiting for the leader to decide and to give orders, wile in the other hand the leader must be aware of everything and involved in every decision. This puts a lot of pressure on the leader and none on the team.

Wile there are situations where giving orders is necessary, those should be restricted to a minimum. A much better approach is to give directions to the team, and let them know what you expect of them and then be there to listen, to help and to guide whenever necessary. In this situation you put yourself in a position of servant allowing your team to grow and became more responsible and proactive.

Concluding

As mentioned in the video, although you can and you should stretch yourself a little out of your comfort zone, you should not contradict your nature. If you send a duck to the eagle school and then send him to hunt a rabbit, they will probably become friends and go drink a beer at the nearest pub.

Have a wonderful day,
R.