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The powerful leader, without a doubt, can still have a strong and commanding presence. The key is how s/he chooses to exchange information, and therefore power, to yield team success.
A power exchange is the intentional, continuous transfer of information that boosts employee accountability and performance.
There are four power converters that gradually increase employee accountability and performance. These power converters give your team the biggest boost if they are applied in sequence. Since you know your team the best, you must determine when to accelerate through, or spend more time, on a specific power converter.
The power exchange starts by explaining the game. Explaining is necessary but not sufficient, in itself, to boost performance. When a leader explains something (a project, plan, expectation, process), the employee is only an observer and will likely feel little personal accountability.
The leader can continue exchanging power by asking the right questions. He might ask to clarify a problem or ask for ideas and suggestions. Asking questions engages employees, and as a result, they feel greater accountability.
The power exchange continues by involving your experts in creating solutions to improve their work and teaching them what they need to know to succeed. This step creates a high level of accountability and commitment. Employee commitment is demonstrated by identifying and solving problems and improving performance.
The final step in the power exchange is to appreciate performance and people. This produces a sustained level of increased accountability that results in employee ownership of their work – a new project, customer relationship, repetitive task or the quality of a report.
As you progress through each power converter, you enhance your employees’ responses to your leadership and elevate their level of accountability.
Powerful leaders know they only get accountability from their employees by being accountable to them and their success. They understand that with today’s worker, accountability is a two-way street.
To learn about the simple actions behind each power converter, check out POWER EXCHANGE.
Copyright © 2015 by Lee J. Colan and The L Group, Inc.