While I wrote these comments with new and emerging leaders in mind, they are just as important for senior leaders as well.
Looking at some of the comments and decisions being made recently, I think some of our country’s senior political leaders have forgotten that they are more than just members of the national ‘team’.
In my last post I put forward that leaders needed to recognize that:
There are some things that you should and shouldn’t do (and those rules change from team to team).
- Your opinion and mood has a direct influence over your team, whether that be positive or negative.
- There are some things that you can do as a team member that you can’t do as a leader.
- Even if you want to be recognised as ‘one of the team’, you are always recognised as the leader of the team.
- Whether you want it to or not, your behaviour (good or bad) sets the example for the team.
Given the rules listed above, I put forward some suggestions for our senior political leaders to adopt to fully assume the role of leadership that we expect of them.
3 Things Our Leaders Shouldn’t Do:
- Pick up a shovel, put on a hard hat or a day-glow vest. You could be forgive for thinking that the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader were actually builders labourer’s in recent weeks. Does anyone truly believe that they shoveled more than 1 spade of earth or undertook anything dangerous? No; but if they did they would be a fool. I expect the leader of the country not to do what others can do, but to do what only they can do. What are they not doing when they are conducting these photo shoots? Imagine the people they could talk to and genuinely listen to if these cheesy opportunities were missed.
- Breakfast Radio or Comedy Shows. By its very nature, breakfast radio should be light, perky and funny and give you a laugh on the way to work. Do we really want our country’s senior leadership on breakfast radio answering questions on celebrity behaviour or what they had for dinner the night before? The Prime Minister and senior Ministers are not celebrities – if they are in the public eye they should remember what their role is. I don’t need to know whether a politician can dance, cook or renovate. If the radio or TV show is not congruent with their role, they shouldn’t do it.
- Use language inappropriate for their role. I will be the first to admit that my choice of language can sometimes be poor – my use of four letter words is more liberal than I would like and I am trying to correct it. I wish our politicians would do the same. I was reminded by a great speaker recently (Lisa McGuinness Smith, CSP) that words have power. To reflect the power of the position they hold, I expect politicians to have a better command of the English language than the general population. While I don’t need them to understand or explain every word from the Macquarie dictionary (was I the only one in Australia that like Pauline Hanson, didn’t know what a zenophobe was until they looked it up?), I do expect them to avoid swear words and strine and appear as smart as their role expects.
What other things should our leaders do / not do to ensure that they fulfil the expectations of their role? As a leader yourself, what things should you be doing / not doing to fulfil the expectations of your role?