Are You Suffering From a Leadership Gap?
January 6, 2014
Wondering why your team is struggling? It may be time to look in the mirror. Leadership advisor Mike Myatt explains how a gulf between what the boss vs. employees see — something he refers to as a leadership gap — can cripple a company’s progress on all levels.
On a scale of one to ten, how would you rank yourself as a leader? If you put yourself somewhere between a six and an eight, then you’re right in line with 95 percent of CEO coach Mike Myatt’s typical audience. “But when we ask that same question to the people who work for those leaders,” Myatt says, “they tend to rank them on average two to three points lower.”
Does that mean, when it comes to your leadership, you’re actually a 5 out of 10?
That’s the kind of reality check that gets to the heart of Myatt’s new book, Hacking Leadership: The 11 Gaps Every Business Needs to Close and the Secrets to Closing Them Quickly. Myatt sat down with OpenView Labs (listen to the full interview here) to discuss why it’s so important to close the gap between how well CEOs think they’re leading their companies and how inspired their employees in the trenches actually feel. After all, he says, “how hard is it for somebody to get out of bed in the morning and come to work and be fired up about working for a five?”
What Are Your Leadership Blind Spots?
Every leader has blind spots, Myatt says, and they’re called that for a reason: you can’t see them. In the same way that you bring unique experiences and competencies to the table, your background also translates to gaps in leadership that apply only to you. “There are positional gaps, personal gaps, philosophical gaps, operational gaps, strategy gaps, and more,” says Myatt, but they all boil down to the fact that people aren’t on the same page.
Myatt recommends that you start closing those gaps by ensuring expectations are aligned throughout the company.
“If expectations are not understood and operationalized,” Myatt explains, “they’re more akin to fantasy than an expectation.”
The best way forward is to have a crisp, well-articulated vision for the company that everyone in the team understands and believes in. From there, you can work to align the strategy and operations around that vision and avoid the disconnects that become blind spots.
Hold Yourself Accountable
When searching for someone to blame, leaders often do not have to look any further than themselves.
Myatt challenges you to examine any problem in your organization. Look closely enough, and you will find poor leadership’s fingerprints all over it.
Discover why the best leaders empower others
So instead of throwing the blame on others, Myatt urges management to accept responsibility for problems that arise. “Leaders who have the confidence and maturity to do that create a trust bond,” he says. “They create a following that really wants to do great things for that leader, because they can trust that leader.”
With that mentality, every problem becomes an opportunity to build trust within your team, and that pays dividends down the road.
Two Keys to Hacking Your Leadership Gap
By a) aligning expectations with a clear vision for the company, and b) being mature enough to shoulder the responsibility for any bumps in the road, you can hack that leadership gap, and you will make great strides in moving your organization forward.
What are your leadership priorities for 2014? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Image by Mário Tomé