IT Leadership

Any leadership philosophy worth its salt must begin with the person gazing back at you in the mirror. Before you utter a word to your team, make sure you can commit to the guidance you plan to impart. In this article, we’ll explore the nuance of leading yourself, communicating your integrity as a leader, and how this impacts your influence on your colleagues and subordinates.

As a leader, be unequivocal in your principles. There’s no room for ambiguity or selective enforcement when it comes to the principles you hold in your personal and professional life. If honesty, inclusivity, and integrity are among your foremost values, make sure you incorporate them into your leadership style from the very beginning. There’s no better way to begin forging your leadership philosophy than boiling it down to a few, powerful principles that you can iterate on and expand with experience.

It’s crucial to lead by example in every interaction and every decision you make. Each decision presents an opportunity to reinforce your principles. By doing so, you provide a roadmap for your team to follow, and a way to hold yourself accountable. Even more, leading by example in this way empowers your team to do the same in their individual relationships and career paths.

Finally, trust and empowerment are the cornerstone of any successful leadership strategy. Trusting your team to operate independently, make their own decisions, and learn from mistakes reinforces your principles and leads by example. This creates a positive feedback loop, embedding your leadership philosophy into the very fabric of your team, who will then impart their own spin on these principles as they grow in their careers.

This may seem like a lot to keep in mind as you develop your leadership style, so let’s explore each principle in detail.

Integrity as a Leader

Leading with integrity should be the most obvious, and most important, aspect of your leadership philosophy. But what does integrity mean in this context? Simply put, acting with integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Being upright and principled in your personal and professional life ensures that you are seen as trustworthy and genuine.

Leading with integrity means your colleagues and subordinates can be confident that you mean what you say, and that you say what you mean. There’s no room for euphemisms, vague guidance, or mixed messages when you lead with integrity. Being direct and open in your communication fosters an environment of trust, and makes your team more receptive to the things you say, be they criticisms or praise.

It’s critical to remember that integrity extends beyond honesty and includes your behaviors, decisions, and daily actions. Making decisions with integrity can be challenging when personal gain is on the line, but maintaining this kind of integrity will earn you immense respect from your team and peers. Respect is a cornerstone of positive workplace culture, and will nurture an environment of collaboration and teamwork.

Finally, when you operate with integrity, you establish a cohesive leadership philosophy that your team can easily understand and emulate. Integrity is a powerful virtue that expresses itself in many ways, and its articulation will differ from person to person. Understanding and empathizing with each team member’s perspective on integrity will help you craft a cohesive leadership strategy that considers everyone’s point of view.

Knowing Your Limits

Knowing your limitations as a leader is as important as broadcasting your principles, perhaps even more so. Being honest about what you don’t know is just as, if not more, important than being direct about what you do know. Delegating tasks to the best-suited team members, and actively seeking their input on matters outside your expertise demonstrates that you’re not above asking for help, and that you prize the collective wisdom of your team.

Being confident and comfortable with your limitations also sets a model for your team to operate within theirs. Understanding one’s own limitations can be a difficult lesson to learn, so leading by example in this respect will foster an environment of honesty and humility. It also encourages your team to collaborate rather than attempting to go at it alone.

If you’re a manager or leader in your organization, it’s likely that you’ve worked hard to get to where you are today. It may be tempting to hold yourself to a different standard than your colleagues or subordinates, or to pretend that you know all the answers. But doing so can only hurt the cohesion of your team and the respect others have for you. It’s okay to not know everything, and it’s okay to admit it.

Effective Communication

Effectively communicating your leadership philosophy may be the most important aspect of implementing it. There are many ways to convey your message to your team, and the nuances of your delivery will determine its impact. You may deliver facts and feedback in a direct and unambiguous manner using declarative statements. Or, you may choose to convey ideas and information using questions, which can be just as powerful when used correctly.

As a leader, it’s important to use the right communication style for the situation at hand. Communication styles are vast and varied, each with its own use case and application. Knowing when to use each style is a skill that you will develop over time with experience.

No matter the communication style you employ, it’s imperative that you remain authentic in your interactions. An insincere communication style, no matter how adept you are with its use, will undermine the respect and trust you’ve built with your team. You must also recognize that, as a leader, your communication will often be received with more scrutiny than that of your team members. This is an inherent aspect of leadership, so embrace it and use it to your advantage.

Leading With Empathy

In the previous section, we discussed the importance of authenticity in leadership communication. This aspect is often overlooked, but no less important than any other piece of your leadership philosophy. Being empathetic in your communication and actions means developing your emotional intelligence. This is your ability to understand your own emotions, and those of the people around you.

Leading with empathy will help you understand the needs of your team, and to connect with them on a more personal level. This creates a positive work environment, founded on respect and trust. More importantly, it allows you to step into your team’s shoes, so you can consider the impact of your words and actions on them. This consideration will further reinforce your principles, as your team will see firsthand that you lead with compassion.

Developing a high level of empathy can take time and experience. Taking the leap to lead with empathy can be difficult, especially if you haven’t seen it modeled in the past. However, making a commitment to this aspect of leadership will have profound effects on your team dynamics and the respect your team bestows upon you.

Conclusion

Leading with integrity, knowing your limitations, communicating effectively, and leading with empathy comprise a strong foundation on which to build your perpetual leadership philosophy. There are many other aspects to consider when developing your leadership style, but these four principles will support you through many dynamic situations that arise in the workplace.

Always remember, there is no one-size-fits-all leadership approach. Maintaining a flexible mindset will help you pivot when necessary, and adapt your style to the needs of your team. Finally, measure your success as a leader by your team’s success. Did they learn under your guidance? Did they grow professionally and thrive in their roles? If the answer is ‘yes’, then you’ve successfully founded your leadership philosophy on a bedrock of integrity that will sustain you all.