-: I would say the signs of a strong leader start with this.
Self-awareness, I think really having a good sense
of what you're really good at doing
and what you're not really good at doing,
and being able to own that and be confident
and comfortable in your own skin,
and somebody that has really good emotional intelligence
with managing teams, leading teams and directing teams.
(gentle music)
-: My definition of leadership
is someone who leads by example
and someone who allows the people that are working for them
to do their job autonomously
and then removes obstacles that they might have.
So a good manager, in my opinion,
doesn't really interfere in the day-to-day work
unless there's a problem that needs to be solved
or something that needs attention.
-: First and foremost, making sure
you're taking care of your people.
You've got to make sure that everyone has the right tools
to get the job done every day,
and make sure that their voice is heard.
It's very easy to be a dictator,
but it's not always successful.
-: Certainly listening is most important.
You have to be able to listen to people,
you have to be able to submit to other people.
It's like a marathon, you know,
you have to pass that baton off every once in a while
for others to be able to help you out in the race,
because if you're always leading
you're gonna get tired of doing the work
and burnt out of doing the work that you're doing.
-: Good leaders can take criticism, constructive criticism.
They've all been able to look at things that, you know,
what anybody would consider a subordinate
might be offering up as criticism or feedback,
they're able to take that, digest it, and grow from it.
-: I think a willingness to kind of roll their sleeves up
and get into the weeds.
There's no egos, you know,
everybody kind of checks that at the door,
and everybody's willing to kind of,
you know, be amongst everybody else.
Our CEO has an office that he's never in.
He actually has a desk
that's out on the floor with the sales team.
He stands there, and I really appreciate that
from, you know, from his perspective as the leader.
-: Understanding your team,
understanding their strengths and their weaknesses,
and then utilizing those strengths.
People have opinions, they may or may not say them,
and so as a leader if you can get your team
to voice their opinions,
I think it's gonna make the team stronger as a whole.
-: The fact that they care, they pass the care test, right.
People will work for you if they know
that you have a vested interest in them.
I mean, they'll show up and they'll work for a title,
but you can get more out of people
and you get more of people,
when they know that you care about who they are
and where they're going.
-: Being able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes,
and understand where they're coming from,
why they have the ideas or the thoughts that they have,
really helps you to have positive interactions,
helps you to be the leader that can help other people.
It's not about saying, hey, I'm the leader
so this is exactly what we're gonna do.
It's about understanding what everyone's needs are
and figuring out the best strategy
for the organization as a whole
that's gonna bring everybody together
to meet those goals for the company.