I was recently asked to speak at a function on my top 10 leadership tips. In the current environment, the function was cancelled - so I thought I'd share them with you via my blog. In the interest of brevity, I'll break it down into a couple of posts.
In no particular order, my first five tips are:
1. Authenticity continues to be the most important trait for leaders today. In a world where we have so much transparency and accountability, you cannot fake authenticity. Be true to yourself and your people - no matter where your career takes you, you should always be able to hold your head up high knowing that you didn't put on a 'corporate' version of yourself just for work. People are smart - they can tell.
2. Integrity. How you behave when no-one is watching means everything. As a modern leader, there are increasingly few times when no-one is watching, but that shouldn't be your motivation. Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do - it is that simple.
3. Set yourself up so that you have choices - you never want to be in a position where you feel that you have to compromise your values. Some good financial advice can help you to ensure you never feel fully vulnerable in the workplace. The only true job security you can have these days is working for yourself, so if you are pursuing a leadership path in a salaried environment, you need to protect yourself.
4. Don't hitch your star to one wagon. Work on consistency and advance your career based on the quality of your work and the strength of your leadership, not whom you have 'aligned' yourself with. I have seen a number of young leaders make this mistake and as soon as their 'wagon' leaves the organisation, they are left high and dry. Maintain relationships across the board and invest in these relationships. You never know when you will need them.
5. Always behave in a way that you can be proud. If you are at an organisation where you have to behave a certain way to get ahead and you're not comfortable with that, it is time to move on. If we have learnt nothing else from the #metoo movement, it is that we don't have to put up with unacceptable behaviour to get ahead - and I mean this in the broad sense for men and women alike.
