Leadership Begins With A Conversation

A supply chain expert in my network told me something today that I thought was worth discussion: he plans better when he can visualize how his schedule actually unfolds on the floor and that only happens when he's out there, talking to the people running it.

He said he thinks great organizations always have leaders on the floor.

He's right.

Leadership is just a relationship, and relationships start with interaction.  

If there is no relationship there cannot be leadership.  Which means as leaders, we have to talk to the people we lead.  Frequently.

You can't fix a relationship that doesn't exist, you have to build it before you can even start to evaluate how good it is.

The first thing I expect from every leader I develop:

Build relationships: Talk to your first-level reports daily. Talk to your second-level reports a minimum of weekly. Not just hallway nods. Not about football.  

Actually talk with 2 way dialogue in a small group (or one on one) about something at work that matters to at least one of you.  

Talk about the job: the problems they want you to fix, the standards you want them to meet. Or their goals.  Or their frustrations.  It doesn't really matter what it is, but you need to listen, attempt to understand, and if you're asked to help you need to try to do that too.

Do this consistently and the hard conversations stop being hard. You're not confronting a stranger. You're talking to someone you already talk to routinely.

All that talking will build trust if you carry yourself to be worthy of trust.

That's the whole secret. Not a program. Not a plaque in the break room. 

Interaction, on a cadence, about real things.  And then just do what you think is right.

What's your cadence with your first- and second-level reports and has it changed how fast you can move on the hard conversations?