What Conditions Are You Creating For Your Team To Thrive?

“Leadership is not how people experience you, it’s how they experience themselves in the presence of you”

As with everything in life and work, it's not about what happens to us, but how we react or ideally, how we consciously respond to what happens.

As leaders, every time we make a choice, we create circumstances for our teams to respond to. So perhaps the question is not “Who are you as a leader?” but “What conditions are you creating for your team to thrive?”

And in this case, self-awareness, empathy and authenticity are important elements, so here are some thoughts that may be helpful:

Know yourself
I will say it again and again: there is no leadership without self-awareness. Start observing your body sensations, start acknowledging your emotions, start labelling your thoughts, start noticing your reactions and your motives. The more you know you, the better you will be as a leader, and the more informed you will be about how the people in your team experience themselves in the presence of you.

Practice noticing
Self-awareness takes practice, so make a habit of noticing how your team behaves or feels in your presence. How do your words or actions resonate? What are the non-verbal signs you notice? What happens to their body language? How do they react to your leadership? What impact do your choices and behaviors have on their own performance or evolution?

Show up authentically
The more authentic you are as a leader, the more others may see themselves in you and be inspired by your journey. Instead of an impersonal facade, or the impression of a flawless detached manager, you become a real person, facing challenges, overcoming difficulties and honing on your strength. We learn more from behaviors that words, so show up as yourself and allow others to do the same!

Cultivate empathy
With self-awareness usually comes more empathy. If you understand how others feel in your presence, you are in a better position to manage them with their emotions, needs and potential in mind. And don't forget to include yourself as a leader - sometimes we're harder on ourselves than on anyone else!