Every week over on LeeCockerell.com, Lee shares a Leadership thought, just something to think about in your daily life. Every week, we will be sharing with you that thought and adding some insight into how that plays into the Gen-Y lifestyle. So without further ado, this week's leadership thought is:
Make sure that every individual clearly and completely understands what he or she is responsible for, what level of authority he or she has, and how he or she will be help accountable.
Being a young leader places responsibility squarely on your shoulders. If you are running a small business, your success and failures come at the hands of your hard work and your decisions.
As a young leader who has older and possibly more experienced co-workers and team members, delagating tasks places you in a tough spot. Knowing how to divvy up the responsibilities to ensure that the final product is a success, is key and crucial. Being able to have firm but reasonable consequences is always an iffy subject. How do you "punish" your team members who do not come through?
Jun Loayza, our 1st young leader spotlighted here on Creating Gen-Y Magic, is working on a site to help with your career, even though he is just getting started with his career. Amidst the adversity, he comes out affirmative and positive that what he is doing is the right thing and that he can help those that are currently struggling and looking for brighter pastures.
So, we turn the table to you. How do you deal with responsibility, both yours and that of those around you?
-Greg and the Creating Gen-Y Magic Team
Nick
September 3, 2008 3:07 PM
The idea of being a leader for older coworkers is certainly challenging. I’ve found that one thing to do is to prove to coworkers through my actions that I am willing to do the hardest jobs myself and then they’ll be willing to do them, too. I try to maintain personal responsibility by being organized; when I say I’ll do something, I remember to do it and then they know they can trust me to follow through. I am sure to continuously remind coworkers how valuable their work is by sharing visitor feedback with them or reiterating how well something went or how much I like their ideas. If we’re all working toward the same goal…providing our guests with a memorable experience…I want to be sure they know how important what they’re doing really is.
Looking forward to seeing everybody’s ideas,
Nick
Jun Loayza
September 3, 2008 5:04 PM
Interesting topic. As a young leader, I have found the best leadership method is to lead by "Self Selection." This means that you give your team members a lot of work and responsibility. Those that are up for the task and that will bring value to the company will self select themselves to accomplish the project.
Those who are not going to bring value to the team will feel that it is too much work, and will therefore self-select themselves to step aside from the position.
Try it out and see if it works.
- Jun