Follow me, I will help you get better - Add Value to those you lead.

Because effective 360 Degree Leaders lead through influence, not position, they invest time and effort to earn influence with their followers just as they do with those over them and beside them. At the heart of this approach is the desire to add value to those they lead. The 360 Degree Leader helps those below him or her discover and reach their potential. This lesson covers several principles to follow in this process. 

1. Walk Slowly Through the Crowd

Relationship building is always the foundation of effective leadership. One of the best ways to relate to your people is to approach your task informally. When you see people in the parking lot or in the hallway, stop to chat with them. Arrive early for meetings and spend time talking informally with your team.

Always ask about their families.

To help you develop this skill successfully, here are a few suggestions:

1. Slow down. To connect with people, you must travel at their SPEED.
2. Express that you care. Offer words of ENCOURAGEMENT.
3. Show interest in their personal lives. Don’t see them as employees only, see them as  FRIENDS.
4. Pay attention when people start avoiding you. SILENCE, not distance, is what separates us.
5. Tend to the PEOPLE, and they will tend to the business. Leaders who tend only to business often end up losing the people and the business.

2. See Everyone as a “10”

The 360 Degree Leader respects and values people—leaders, peers and followers. The optimistic, uplifting attitude of an effective leader creates a positive working environment where everyone on the team has a place and purpose – where everyone shares in the win. If you want to be highly effective in building up people and encouraging them to reach their full potential, here are some suggestions:

1. See their potential—who they can BECOME.
2. BELIEVE in them.
3. Commend them for even small ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
4. Build them up by ENCOURAGEMENT.
5. Treat them with RESPECT and DIGNITY.

Discussion:

• What potential do you see in your team?          
• Who do you envision them becoming?          
• How can you encourage them in their potential?

3. Develop Each Team Member as a Person

When you equip people, you teach them how to do a job. When you develop people, you are helping them to improve as individuals. You are helping them acquire personal qualities that will benefit them in all areas of life, not just their jobs.

Here are some keys to developing people:

1. See DEVELOPMENT as a long-term process.
2. Discover each person’s DREAMS and desires.
3. Help each person discover his STRENGTHS.
4. Lead everyone DIFFERENTLY.
5. Model good LEADERSHIP.
6. Provide leadership TRAINING and resources.

The Law of Process in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership states: “Leaders develop daily, not in a day.”

Discussion: 

• What are several steps you can take to develop your team?

4.  Place People in their Strength Zones

In The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, the Law of the Niche says, “All players have a place where they add the most value.” John Maxwell adds, “The number one reason people don’t like their job is that they are not working in the area of their strengths.”

Successful leaders find the strength zones of the people they lead.

Here are a few suggestions for placing people in their strength zones:

 1.  Provide TOOLS for self-discovery.

 2.  Give them the right JOB.

 3.  Identify SKILLS they need to improve.

 4.  Provide TRAINING to improve these skills.

Discussion:

• Are your team members serving in their strength zones?
• What steps can you take to move them to their strength zones?

5. Model the Behavior You Desire

You will reproduce what you are, not what you want! Leaders need to be what they want to see in their followers.

Here’s how this works:

1. Your BEHAVIOR determines the culture of your organization.
2. Your ATTITUDE determines the atmosphere.
3. Your VALUES determine the decisions.
4. Your INVESTMENT determines the return.
5. Your CHARACTER determines the trust.
6. Your WORK ETHIC determines the productivity.
7. Your GROWTH determines the potential.

Followers tend to become like their leaders. If you don’t like what your people are doing, first take a look at yourself.

Leaders can reproduce only what they have become themselves. The Law of Reproduction in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership says, “It takes a leader to raise up a leader.” We teach what we know, but we reproduce what we are.

Consider the following truths about leaders:

• It takes one to know one.
• It takes one to show one.
• It takes one to grow one.

Discussion:

What plan do you have to continue to grow as a leader and to grow other leaders?

6. Transfer the Vision

A 360 Degree Leader will rarely be the inventor of the vision, but he or she is almost always involved in communicating it to their team.

Here are suggestions for how 360 Degree Leaders interpret the vision of the top leaders and fire up their teams to accomplish the dream.

1. Present it CLEARLY and concisely.
2. Connect it to past, present and FUTURE.
3. Explain the PURPOSE of the vision.
4. State the specific GOALS to be reached.
5. Present it as a CHALLENGE.
6. Put a human face on a challenging vision by telling STORIES.
7. Communicate with PASSION.
8. Share it CONSISTENTLY.

Discussion:

• How do you communicate the top leader’s vision to your team?
• What stories do you use to put a face on the vision?

7. Reward for Results

Whatever actions are rewarded will get repeated. That is why it is important for leaders to reward positive actions and results. When you reward results, you inspire your people to work hard and to feel better about their job. To reward results effectively, follow these principles:

1. Give PRAISE publicly and privately.
2. Give more than just PRAISE. Talk is cheap.
3. Don’t REWARD everyone the same.
4. Give rewards other than MONEY.
5. PROMOTE when possible.

Discussion:

• Have you recently complimented one of your team members?
• Did you do so publicly and privately?

Assessment and Application

Assessment:

Of the seven principles in this lesson, which one is your strongest? 

Which one is your weakest?

Application:

Name three steps you can take to become more effective in leading your team.

Lead On!
Sutton