I thrive following a bold leader. I love the idea of someone pointing towards the future saying, “This is the road we need to take, this is our opportunity when we get there!” I tend to get the most satisfaction in work when I am working with a team on a bold mission that is communicated clearly from leadership.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked with leaders who have successfully done this in both large companies and start-ups. Each leader that successfully led in these scenarios did the following things:
- Clearly communicated the bold idea/vision
- Explained the reasoning (hypothesis)
- Had clear measurements to determine success
- Took accountability for the results
When a new feature or project came along and a leader was able to use this framework to detail what and why we were doing, teams aligned, and we were able to prioritize work based on these communications. We were also able to have more empathy towards other teams because we had a shared understanding of success (they aren’t prioritizing this work because it doesn’t align with the new bold vision, etc.).
Too many leaders are concerned with job security and not rocking the boat. However, “rocking the boat” can inspire people to be bold themselves, stretch their capabilities, and spur innovation. On the flip side, there were many times where my team was asked to work on something that didn’t seem to move the needle, or we didn’t understand the “why” even though we were building the “how.” When faced with these situations, trying to rally the team was an uphill battle as there wasn’t accountability from leadership as to the goals or the reasoning for the work.
Being bold means not being afraid to be wrong. It’s about acknowledging and owning your mistakes. Taking responsibility, especially publicly, drives respect and loyalty significantly. I would much rather work for someone who strongly believes in a direction (and can explain why) and turns out to be wrong, than to work for someone who doesn’t set a bold direction.
When I am in a leadership position and I need to lead, I want to lead boldly and with conviction. I’ve found the framework listed above enables me to do that and to create an environment where people feel motivated.