The Best Leaders Are Helpful

Are you helpful or a hindrance to your team?

Are you helpful or a hindrance to your team?

“Don’t be fooled by thinking that if performance is great it’s because of you, not despite you.” — Kannan Ramaswamy

Most leaders believe they are self-aware, but they are not. Not surprisingly, the same happens with being helpful — leaders hinder their teams, even though most think they are helping them.

That’s what Professors Kannan Ramaswamy and Bill Youngdahl of the School of Global Management in Arizona discovered. Their research uncovered that 51 percent of employees believe that initiatives tend to succeed despite, not because of, their leaders.

Many leaders fall into the ‘hindrance trap’ — thinking big disconnects them from the reality of the organization. They get lost in strategy and removed from implementation — leaders are often clueless if the organization can take on more initiatives.

Being helpful requires self-awareness and generosity — remove the obstacles rather than add more. And let your team do their best work.

How Can You Hel…