13 concepts to understand before you lead a team:
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
1. Everything starts with trust
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
Your team needs to know you are competent and have integrity.
The easiest way to show them you have both is by doing what you say you will do.
- Write down your commitments
- Proactively manage expectations
2. Conflict is a Constant
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
Hoping conflict will go away by ignoring it is like hoping weeds in your garden will go away when you ignore them.
Your goal is not to hope conflict disappears because it won't. Your goal is to get better at managing it.
3. Seeds Depend on Soil
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
You can create healthy soil in your organization by listening deeply to people at all levels.
Understanding their goals and obstacles will ensure you can provide the support they need.
Creating healthy soil will allow ideas to flourish.
4. Clarity is Speed
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
Be ruthless about making sure all levels of your organization understand their priorities and Why their work matters.
Great leaders keep the vision visible.
5. Focus on Strengths
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
The things that are recognized get repeated. Make sure your team recognizes the value they bring.
Your team will be more engaged and more likely to stay when they have a manager who focuses on their strengths.
6. Develop a Coaching Culture
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
When you spend time developing your people, you save time fixing unnecessary problems.
Plus:
- More collaboration
- Better performance
Interested in creating a coaching culture?
Be the first to know about my cohort👇https://t.co/DiBfp0KJyf
7. Know Your Gaps
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
You can’t be good at everything. Develop a partnership with people who complement your strengths.
Side note: these are likely people you initially have a conflict with.
8. Invest in Yourself
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
As you gain influence, working on yourself has a multiplying impact.
Improving your leadership skills will allow you to be more effective in improving the lives around you.
This is a big deal!
9. Be Urgent With Feedback
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
Don't wait 10 days for a conversation that will take 10 minutes.
Remember, the purpose of feedback is to help.
Be direct with feedback because you are invested in the success of others.
10. Empower Decision Makers
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
Make sure your team understands the big picture and give them guard rails to work within.
When obstacles come up, you want them to be able to tell you why they made adjustments instead of coming to you for approval.
11. Make it Easy to Talk About Mistakes
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
People are going to make mistakes. When this happens it's important for you to respond in a way that is aligned with your goals and values.
Creating a culture where people hide mistakes is expensive.
12. Follow the 80/20 Rule
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
You need to know what 20% of your actions lead to 80% of your results.
Knowing this will make it much easier for you to say NO to the things not setting your team up for success.
12. Protect Your Refresh Time
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) April 11, 2022
Know the things that keep you at your best, and don't let them become optional.
When you fail to stay energized, your team will feel it first.
Most people fail on this one thing that is the easiest to do: sleep!
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) April 11, 2022
I've been developing leaders for the last 5 years.
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
Bad leaders all struggled for different reasons.
The best leaders all focused on these 7 principles:
The Flywheel
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
Building a great team is like pushing a flywheel. It's really tough at first but builds momentum with each push.
Take this approach with your team, do the hard things now that will make your life easier in the future.
Radical Candor
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
Radical Candor means you care personally and challenge directly. It is how you build trust. (Shout out @kimballscott)
Care Personally by being empathetic and grateful.
Challenge Directly by being straightforward and sincere with your feedback.
5 Steps of Execution
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
Step 1: Clear Communication
Step 2: Clarify Expectations
Step 3: Trust but Verify
Step 4: Coach to Opportunities
Step 5: Recognition and Accountability
Fail Fast, Fail Forward
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
Great leaders encourage their team to take chances and use failures as an opportunity to help their team grow.
Success is built on failures.
Prioritize Developmental
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
Great leaders give their team space to grow, tools to succeed, and hold them to a high standard.
Effective Development requires all three of these components.
Focus on Strengths
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
The best teams focus on the value each person on the team brings.
People who focus on strengths are 6x as likely to be engaged in their work and 8% more productive.
If you see someone being great, let them know!
They Focus on Outcomes
— Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) December 17, 2021
Great leaders make sure their teams understand the mission and connect their work.
Once your team understands the desired outcomes, give them guidelines to work within and impactful incentives so you can watch them be great.
This was excellent. Thanks, Jacob.
— Misha (@MishadaVinci) December 17, 2021
