Is this just a clever little saying, or is this really what leadership, when stripped of all the jargon, truly boils down to?
I myself am inclined to side with the latter, and find this quote by Eisenhower to perfectly encapsulate what it really means to be a leader - which is to create other leaders.
Some might look at this quote and say, "All this is is motivation," and while motivation is a big part of leading, there's certainly much more to it than that. What I feel Eisenhower is trying to impart with this quip is how leadership depends on all the individuals in your team being in tune with other.
Below I will outline some of the ways in which a leader nurtures and grows his/her team and how these relate to what Eisenhower says about leadership.
1. Your success as a leader depends on your team's capabilities.
As a leader with a certain task to perform it is your responsibility to ensure that each and every member of the team has the required skill to effectively perform their duties. Over and above this a leader needs to ensure that his individual team member's strengths are used in the most effective ways - which just so happens to be another way of ensuring that your team members are highly motivated and engaged.
"Getting someone else to do something," as Eisenhower puts it, is far easier when you as the leader have ensured that your team is prepared and well equipped to do the "something".
2. A leader must nurture a shared vision.
There's a heck of a lot that a leader needs to take into account, but ensuring that his or her team have a solid shared vision is one of the most important.
Even if you create a team of the most capable people, without a shared vision they would be no more productive than a team with only half the skill. A shared vision, i.e. an idea of where the team is headed and what it is setting out to ultimately achieve, is fundamental if you are going to expect your team to function cohesively and productively as a unit.
Having a shared vision among the team enables everyone to know who is responsible for what, and essentially why they are doing it. When there is no shared vision you will find it very hard to get someone to do something because he wants to do it. It is more likely that he would at best be indifferent to your request, simply because he doesn't know why he's been asked to do, or what it will ultimately achieve in the long-run.
On the other hand teams with a shared vision understand how the small roles they play affect the bigger picture, and as a result are more willing and more able to perform their tasks effectively.
3. Leaders must maintain their team's enthusiasm.
Simply sharing your vision of where the team, company, or division is headed in the long-run is not enough. Often just knowing why your team member has been asked to do something is not sufficient … not if the motivation to do the task is not there.
Sure, a shared vision helps to boost team morale and enables a higher level of buy-in, but on a day-to-day basis teams still need motivating, and the responsibility of this also falls on the shoulders of the leader.
Leaders employ many tactics for encouraging and motivating their teams, from subtle techniques like regular feedback and metaphorical pats on the back, to the more obvious methods like incentive programmes and public congratulations.
While there is no perfect combination of methods to motivate our teams (mostly because no two teams are the same), many effective and successful leaders find the best way of motivating their teams is through leading from the front.
Giving your team members an understanding of why they are doing things is important, but to really ensure that "he wants to do it", you need to be sure to motivate him as well.
4. Leaders need to understand the individual's needs as well as the team's.
When looking at the Three Circles Model it becomes clear that for any team to perform consistently well the leader needs to be in tune with the needs of the team, the individual, and the task.
Motivation on an individual level comes into play here, and requires that the leader be involved enough in his or her team's lives to know what the situation is, and be able to respond accordingly.
A leader cannot look at the team, or the individuals within that team, in isolation. He or she must be aware of interpersonal issues within the team, demotivation caused by external forces, skill levels of the individuals etc. all at the same time to be able to effectively make decisions for the team.
Again, with regards to Eisenhower's quote, what we see here is how important it is that your team members want to assist you in reaching your goals, and how a deeper understanding of your team members is necessary to achieve this.
5. Leadership requires flexibility.
Eisenhower refers to leadership as an "art", and it is difficult to disagree. Give two people the same guitar and one might produce a hit song and the other utter garbage. Give two people the same paints and one might develop a masterpiece while the other just makes a mess.
It's the same with leadership. You can give the same teams to two different people with incredibly different results. One might produce an effective, creative and highly motivated team while the other struggles to get his team to do even the simplest of tasks without bickering and fighting.
To be an effective leader one needs to be flexible. What works with one team may very well not work with another - the challenge is to adapt.
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