Great Leadership is ALL about “I”.

You’ve heard the saying that there’s no “I” in team.  Blanket statements like this are rarely accurate.  Even in teams, individuals have to be accountable for their contributions.  What about leadership, though?  In a time of empowering approaches to leadership, shared leadership practices, and increasing distinction between managing and leading, it there room for “I”?

You bet there is!  Lots of “Is” in fact.  Let’s take a look at some. 

INCLUSION:  Great leaders are inclusive.  They ensure everyone feels part of the team, that everyone’s contributions are valued and recognized.

INVITATION: Great leaders invite people to participate, to share their expertise, and to contribute to team success.

INDIVIDUALIZATION: Great leaders include, but they also recognize and value the unique combination of strengths, attributes, and thinking each person bring to the team.  Great leaders don’t make people conform for no reason.  Instead they leverage the strengths of each person to achieve team success.

INVOLVEMENT: Great leaders ensure people participate in change.  They recognize that people don’t resist change so much as resist being changed and include everyone in change planning and execution.

IRRELEVANCE:  Great leaders bring out the strengths and potential of team members. The collective strengths o the team, when integrated, usually minimizes the weaknesses of any one member, and often make irrelevant.

INTERRELATIONSHIPS: Great leaders build strong relationships with each team member and create the conditions that foster strong interrelationships between and among team members, team members and customers, team members and colleagues, etc. Great leaders also understand the interrelationships between and among team activities, organizational priorities and strategies, customer wants and needs, and more.

INNOVATION:  Great leaders create the conditions that nurture innovation, new ways of thinking, and new perspectives. They make people feel safe in trying new things and sharing ideas. And great leaders ensure the right people get credit for their ideas and achievements.

INVENTION:  Closely allied to innovation, great leaders foster the invention of new products and services, new processes, and new designs.

IMAGINATION: Great leaders tell stories, encourage others to tell stories, foster brainstorming, ask “what if” questions.  Great leaders encourage people to be childlike, to wonder and imagine.

INTENTION: Great leaders are driven by purpose and take intentional actions to realize that purpose. Even when things change (i.e. all the time), it’s the intention that gets you back on track or creates the new track.

INSPRIRATION:  Great leaders bring ideas and people together.  They know how team members’ strengths and abilities complement and supplement each other and how, those strengths and abilities support projects and services and change.  They help people see the big picture at the team and organizational level and where each team member fits in, and they inspire people to aim for a higher purpose.

INTERPRETATION: Great leaders help people understand, even when activities and values and directives seem to clash (or do). The help team members understand sometimes conflicting requests, policies, etc., and to see what needs to happen next to realize the larger goals and purpose.

INTEGRATION:  Great leaders ensure all the pieces are in place, that people have all the information available, and bring everything together. The key is “fit” – not just all the pieces being there, but unified.

ILLUMINATION: Great leaders illuminate the future, making it brighter and more visible.  They illuminate the past, the foundation for creating that future.  They illuminate the present, the strengths of the team, and the path forward, helping others gain clarity about where they’re going and why even if the path is always clear all the way.

Never forget that you are a leader, but you are also an individual and that it is YOU who will set the course for your leadership and your team’s success.  Which brings me to the final I in this list:

INTENTION:  Great leaders intentionally and purposefully design their leadership success.  They don’t just let it happen and hope it works out.  And a great way to fulfil your design is with our Power Up Your Leadership programs – check them out here