Leadership Tip–Vent Up!
- by D'Arcy Lussier
Leadership is difficult, for many reasons. One of those reasons is that we not only need to keep ourselves motivated when difficult or challenging times come, but we also need to motivate our teams and keep them focussed on the tasks at hand regardless of the mortars being rained down around them. Inexperienced (and experienced) leaders can fall into the “me-too” mentality – that is, the leader sees themselves as part of the team member instead of the leader of the team. Once a leader changes the teams view that he/she is a peer and not the leader, dynamics can change on the team. One of the biggest dangers is that the leader starts sharing frustrations, fears, concerns, etc. with the team that they’re supposed to be leading on to victory. This can destroy a team’s morale and productivity. One simple thing you can do to counter this is remember this rule when it comes to venting: Vent Up! Don’t vent sideways or down, vent up. Vent to the people above you – they’re the ones that tend to have the power to actually change things anyway. You as a leader stay healthy by getting your frustrations and concerns off your chest, your team is still insulated from it, and your superiors are aware of issues that need to be addressed or can coach you through the obstacles. D
