LEADERS ATTRACT THE TEAM THEY DESERVE

Did you ever play the children’s game, “Follow my Leader”? The idea is simple. Everyone walks in single file behind a leader and whatever action the leader makes the followers have to mimic.

We still play that game as adults in business. I was conducting a seminar on recruiting, developing and training a sales team recently. The participants, small business owners, wanted to know how to attract the right people to work in their sales teams and how to prevent them being poached by the opposition.

It soon became apparent that those business owners who had positive attitudes, who were clear about what they wanted from business and who were passionate about achieving their goals attracted dedicated, motivated, committed and passionate people. Those who treated business as a burden to be tolerated, treated their team with suspicion and were unable to clearly articulate their goals and vision, attracted half-hearted sales people who were not dedicated to the business and willing to move on as soon as a better offer came their way.

We still follow the leader. Leaders attract teams who reflect themselves. Or to use the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together”.

The question any leader has to ask themself is: “Why would a person want to work in my team?” The mistake leaders often make, especially if the leader is the employer, is to assume that they are doing the person a favour by allowing them to join the team. With that attitude they feel no obligation to make the team attractive to the potential member. They fail to be clear about the vision and mission of the team, the values of the team are not well defined and there is no sense of passion or commitment. They don’t make the team sound attractive, there is no substance to what they are about. Not surprisingly, the people who find their way into the team have no sense of personal vision, mission, passion or commitment.

Because a team follows the leader, leaders have to be both careful and clear about the message they put out, not only in words but also in actions. They will attract the people who subscribe to whatever image they project, good or bad. Sloppy, imprecise leadership attracts sloppy, imprecise people. Dedicated, clear, passionate and focused leadership attracts people with the same values. Motivated people, the kind of people who are an asset to any team, won’t work with just any team. They are looking for the team who is worthy of their abilities and dedication. If leaders don’t make themselves and their teams attractive to those sorts of people they will end up with the second best.

Members of a strong team are attracted to the team by more than the income. Therefore, if they receive an offer from another team or company, their choice to stay or leave is not based purely on money. They will consider whether the new team can offer them as much in personal empowerment, value and vision as the current team. People don’t leave good leaders that easily. Poor leaders lose team members to anyone who offers more money at the end of the month.

To attract a good team the leader must be clear on three things. Firstly, the mission of the team. They should be able to state in a single sentence the essence of what the team’s task is. Then they should be clear on the vision, where they plan to take the team. Motivated people, the kind of people who make great team members, need to know that the leader is clear about the journey ahead and is not wandering aimlessly from one day to the next. Thirdly, the values of the team, what the team stands for and what will or will not be tolerated on the journey toward the vision, must be clear. The leader must live by the values and ensure that every action taken by the team in some way shows those values.

We play follow my leader. Leaders attract teams who mimic them, and therefore they get the team they deserve.



LEADERS ATTRACT THE TEAM THEY DESERVE - To learn more about this author, visit Jonathan Payne's Website.

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