The Secret to Showing Up for Your Team: A Clear Leadership Vision

As we close in on the end of 2022, it’s only natural to reflect on the events of the past year, both what went well… and what didn’t. The difficult thing is that all this reflection comes during the busiest time for most of us! Organizations are often scrambling to end the year on a high note, teams are working hard, and leaders have little time to spare; and that’s not even mentioning the family gatherings and holiday parties that fill the month of December. We’re all running at top speed, yet taking a moment to slow down will actually help you be more efficient and effective.

Most of you are leaders of teams, and as you go into the next year your success will be determined by the joint success of your team. If you want to achieve your professional goals, you’ve got to take your team with you. When the tough moments come (and they will), how will you show up for your team? 

Dig deep 

Have you ever accidentally killed a houseplant? I have, and it always seems to go the same way. Everything appears just fine, then one day your poor little plant is withered and brown! When you check the roots to see what happened, you find that there’s a longstanding problem, something you didn’t know about. Well, the same thing can happen with teams. 

If you’re basing your leadership on what you see above ground, you’re not getting the full picture. There are often challenges and conflicts brewing under the surface of even the strongest of teams, and as a leader, you’ll have to explore what’s beneath to nip these problems in the bud.

And it’s not just challenges that you’ll find down there. When you venture beneath the surface, you may also find buried treasure. You know a lot about your team, but there’s almost certainly a lot that you don’t know. Successful teams are built on diverse skills and abilities, and being unaware of your team’s hidden talents or interests could be holding your team back. 

There’s only one way to find out your team’s secret strengths and weaknesses: talk to them. We can be so focused on hitting tangible goals or dealing with surface issues with our teams that we don’t make time to talk to them about what’s really going on, what’s beneath the surface. Team meetings and one-on-ones can feel time consuming, especially this time of year, but I encourage you to make the time. Show up with authenticity and real interest. Ask questions and really care about the answers. It’s up to you to be the archeologist here, and what you uncover can be a game-changer for the health and effectiveness of your team.

What’s your vision?

You know what your challenges are, now what? Every situation is different and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Luckily you don’t need to be everything to everyone all the time, you just have to be the leader your team needs in that moment. 

Your team’s culture and challenges are going to change, it’s inevitable. And that means that you have to be able to adapt to that change and continue to meet them where they currently are, again and again. It’s challenging, but there is something you can work on to make it easier: a clear vision for your leadership. 

Envision the kind of leader you want to be. Get clear, get specific. How do you want your team to feel about you? What kind of results do you want to get? What goals do you have? Can you see yourself yet? Maybe envision how the leader you want to be would handle some of your team’s current challenges. Whatever that leader looks like, whatever goals you have, seeing yourself clearly as that leader is the first step toward success for both you and your team this year.

Taking stock via self appraisal is one of the first things I work on with my executive coaching clients. Just like your work with your team, you’re going to have to dig deep to make real change. Only this time, you’re doing it for yourself. We all have strengths and struggles; what are yours? It’s hard to be objective about ourselves, but try to see these things as data. After all, there’s no use beating yourself up for something that happened in July. If you’re having trouble seeing clearly, this is where a trusted coach, a mentor, or even your team can come in.

Information is power. When challenges are named, they often become a lot easier to deal with, and once you know not only your team, but yourself, you can begin to realize your full leadership potential. So as you go forward, take this end-of-the-year opportunity to look inside. You’ll be amazed at how far vision can take you.