That is a great question to ask – regardless of whether you have the title of leader or not. There is a tremendous amount of research, supported by the Gallup Organization and others, that indicates that people don’t leave their organizations, they leave their managers.
Leadership is not a mystical set of characteristics that only charismatic people are born with. Leadership is a set of behaviors that people can learn.
If you are currently in a leadership role or aspiring to be a future leader, let me help you further reflect on that question, “Would you work for you?”
1. Are you congruent? In other words, do your behaviors reflect the values you convey to your people and your team members? Are you clear about your leadership style and philosophy of leadership and act in congruence with that? Do you lead by example?
If you worked for you, would you see yourself as authentic and would you follow You?
2. Are you self-aware? Do you understand how your personality style impacts other people around you – your peers, team members, and your manager? And, do you understand why you respond to others the way you do? IQ (a measure of a person’s intelligence) is a given, but what is your EQ (a measure of your emotional intelligence)? And how does it impact your performance as a leader?
If you worked for you, how would you be impacted?
3. Are you aligned? Have you taken the time to make sure that your team’s mission, vision, and values are directly aligned with individual performance goals?
If you worked for you, would you have clarity around your roles and responsibilities?
4. Are you a conflict avoider? Do you avoid the difficult conversations – like providing timely feedback?
If you worked for you, would you see yourself as credible because you took the time and had the courage to deal with difficult issues directly?
Would you work for you?