Leading others is not something to be taken for granted. Success in leadership doesn't come with the title or the role, it comes from the positive impact you have on people in your company. There are a lot of good leaders out there, but in the modern age, "good" means "average," and average leaders have little impact. So, how can you go from being a good leader to a remarkable one?
Be Authentic
Remarkable leaders have a trait that's sets them apart -- they are authentic. Most leaders are trying to be the person that others want them to be. They're looking at other successful leaders and copying or modeling their behavior. What your team really needs is for you to be real.
Know your Identity
Who are you and what do you believe in? Your team wants to connect with the human side of you. They understand that you know your job, and they get that you're results driven, but do they know who you truly are? Find a way to tell your true story -- past, present and future. What do you value? What mistakes have you made? What would you do differently? What are you excited about right now and what are you struggling with? The more genuine, the more honest, the more real you can be, the better the connection and the greater commitment to you from those that you lead.
Embrace Vulnerability
Being remarkable is also about letting your guard down. We think that as leaders we need to have all the answers, and some of us have a false belief that our answers are the best. If you don't know something, say so. Say, "I don't know, let me think about it" or better still, "I don't know, what would you do?" Let people in, ask for their help, expertise, and support. It's okay to be trying to work things out and if you ask for support your team will happily contribute and become more engaged in the process.
Deliver Feedback
I have the privilege of working with leaders of some of the world's top companies. The one thing that leaders are really terrible at is providing genuine, honest feedback. They fail to tell people how they really think they are going and they fail to do it in a timely manner. Get into the habit of elevating others by giving them great feedback about what's working well and what could work better. Help them grow and develop, help them get better, help them get ahead. They will appreciate you for it.
When it's all said and done, your team will appreciate your skills, admire your desire, but they will remember, relate, and follow you because you have an authentic identity, that you are real enough to be vulnerable, and you have a clear interest in elevating others through genuine feedback.
Rowdy Mclean is a world renowned motivational speaker, leadership consultant and author of the best-selling book Play a Bigger Game. Visit rowdymclean.com for more information.