<p>Ten years ago, my neighbor's 8 year old was having a conversation with my 7 year old. She said: "I can make a mess in my room during the week because my mom pays me to clean it up over the weekend." I thought it was quite funny at the time. I shared the story with her mom and we laughed about it. Recently my 24 year old told me, "If I don't return grandma's calls for a while, she sends me money." Doesn't that sound familiar? It causes me to think.</p> <p>Our behaviors are shaped a certain way because of the way people interact with us. We also shape the behavior of others by the way we interact with them.</p> <p>Let's talk about leadership and teams. In an organization, leaders shape their teams by acknowledging them, either implicitly or explicitly. Over time people change their behavior based on the acknowledgment they have received. If the "squeaky wheel" gets more attention, more people will show up as individual contributors instead of team players. If submission and respect are encouraged, team members will tend to please their leader by agreement and compliance. Over time, the leader becomes very comfortable with his team because the team members will not take the risk of challenging him. Therefore a team can only be as effective as the leader. If a leader has certain limitations, his team will inherit that limitation over time.</p> <p>In the current economy, people may fear the loss of a job. When an organization announces "We need to cut costs"; we can get some insight of the organization's future by noticing how people react.</p> <p>If the first thought is: "What I can do to help with cutting costs"; this organization has a good chance to make through the tough time because employees are engaged. If the first thought is: "How long am I going to keep my job"; this organization might not have an easy time to survive through the financial crisis because employees don't see themselves as part of the solution.</p> <p>Gandhi said: "Be the change you want to see". If a leader wants to have team players that are engaged, the leader needs to encourage team work and actively engage his/her team on a regular basis. If a leader wants to be effective, he needs to encourage feedback from all levels of his team and give constructive and timely feedback. Therefore communication is in place and transparency is encouraged.</p> <p>Leadership does not happen only in an organization. It happens at home too. If you want your teen to come home before curfew, you need to keep your promises. That's called "walking the talk". If you don't enjoy your life, you can't expect your children to believe what you are telling them about life. If you rescue and protect your kid when he/she is in trouble, you can't expect him/her to grow into a self sufficient individual. I see many women resent the fact that they do most of the housework. What they don't see is that they are accountable to help shaping the partnership.</p> <p>Even though not many people see themselves as leaders, leadership is within all of us. Be aware of the influence you have to shape your team, organization, company, children and spouse. Be aware that what you encourage or discourage is making a difference in how people relate to you and how successful your team can be. You can be a powerful leader if you consciously set the model for your team.</p> 2009-02-22T06:48:21Z -10.4073 493 3266 true 5 5076 leadership-and-teams 12 2009-02-25T18:59:36Z 2009-02-25T18:59:36Z

Our behaviors are shaped a certain way because of the way people interact with us. We also shape the behavior of others by the way we interact with them.

0 2009-02-25T18:59:36Z