Yesterday’s post focused on Servant Leadership and what it means to take that type of leadership approach for those around you. A part of being a good leader is not only finding ways to help your team shine, but it is also standing up for them to others. Your team needs a leader to be a champion for them and share the good things that they are doing. Leaders may also have to deal with conflict on behalf of their team members.
Would you be willing to have a direct conversation with a peer or with Human Resources on behalf of a team member? There are times when this becomes necessary because someone made a judgment without all the facts or purposely made a decision that could your team member’s career. The employee may not even know that these conversations are going on. When the leader finds out about the situation, they need to go have a direct conversation about it. They need to go into these conversations with the employee’s best interests at heart, understand the circumstances and if necessary, fight the battle.
Would you be willing to do that for someone on your team? Would you have the courage to stand up to your peers or senior management to have the tough conversations? Being a champion for your team and handling these political conversations is part of the job. Your team deserves someone who will represent them in a positive way without throwing them under the bus at the first opportunity. This is the kind of leader that people want to work for and it builds tremendous respect from others that you are willing to demonstrate that courage every day. Hopefully these situations are not happening for you often, but when they do, you need to be prepared to show up with courage and integrity for both your team and yourself.