Leadership

By Stacy M. Menz, PT, DPT, PCS

Leadership is a word I think about every day as a business owner. I think about how I am doing as a leader, and I think about how I can develop my staff to step up as leaders. I believe that leadership isn’t a destination but a path that is ever changing and evolving. If there has ever been a time that I thought about it as a destination, and had the brief thought of “I’ve made it,” the universe has quickly disabused me of that notion!

I also believe (and I wrote about this in my letter last year) that everyone is a leader, especially of themselves. An organization may include both overt leaders and quiet leaders. Often it’s the quiet leaders who provide the most influence on those around them; yet they don’t think of themselves as leaders. They lead by example, by the way in which they choose to show up every day.

Business News Daily defined leaders this way:

1. Leaders better their environment.
2. Leaders know their team and themselves well.
3. Leaders maintain a positive attitude.
4. Leaders build the next generation of leaders.¹

Reading about these four qualities, I think about them and ask how I am doing as a leader, but I also ask how my staff is doing as leaders. And more importantly, how am I supporting them as leaders? And how am I supporting them in being the kind of leader they want to be? This may look different from the kind of leader I want them to be, but as they continue to grow in their leadership, those two visions have the potential to move closer together!

So take a minute and ask yourself how you are doing on each of these four points and then develop a plan on how you can continue along the leadership path while bringing your staff along with you!

Reference

¹ www.businessnewsdaily.com/3647-leadership-definition.html. Accessed March 2018.