Written by Mandy Flint and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

We’re all familiar with the CEO, the Chief Executive Officer. Sure.

But how about the Chief ENABLING Officer? Have you seen her/him?

This is the new take on being a CEO.

Nothing new about it per se; leadership was always about enabling others to do a great job. The difference lies in the awareness. Not all leaders think of themselves as enablers – and then they won’t be as enabling as they could. And make no mistake, this is true for all leaders, whether they are:

From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog

Written by Mandy Flint and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

You.

Yes, you.

You can influence teamwork in your team.

Working as a team is something every one of us will have to do at some point in our careers, but all too often there are roadblocks – ranging from lack of communication to clashing personalities. These can all get in the way of the many benefits of teamwork.

When this happens leaders as well as team members need to get things back on track and create an environment and atmosphere where positive results can be achieved.Working as a team is something every one of us will have to do at some point in our careers, but all too often there are roadblocks – ranging from lack of communication to clashing personalities. These can all get in the way of the many benefits of teamwork.

Obstacles to Really Good Teamwork

Why is an effective teamwork strategy so difficult to create and manage? The top reasons for this are some organizations don’t encourage it; personality differences exist; there’s not enough trust between colleagues, some people don’t see the relevance of sharing and just want to focus on their job; negative first impressions have been formed and can’t be overcome; and egos get in the way of people connecting with one another.

A lack of teamwork can result in significant consequences within an organization. When people don’t know or trust each other, it leads to a hesitance or unwillingness to work together, which makes it hard to perform even the simplest of tasks.

We all need to be aware that the sharing of power doesn’t weaken our position but actually strengthens it.

Transparency is quickly becoming the norm in business and the expectations of transparency are growing, Even if you think you have a reasonable level of openness in your organization, you need to strive for more. What can you do right now to help this?

So whether you are the leader of the team or not, you influence each other every day and you can have a big impact on the team you work in. Think about what you could be sharing that would be for the greater good of the team. Imagine what you could all make happen together! Please share your experience of teamwork below.

About the authors

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their new book ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions” is out now, published by Financial Times International.

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”This book is a 21st-century guide on how to build a world-class team. I highly recommend it” Steve Siebold, Founder, Mental Toughness University, Florida USA

From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog

By Mandy Flint and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

You.

Yes, you.

You are a leader.

Whether you have a leadership role or maybe aspire to have one, you influence people every day and as such you are a leader. Some of the most effective leaders in this world are informal leaders. Those that others listen to – and feel heard by.

You can’t really learn leadership in the classroom. You can of course learn principles, acquire tools and models that can help you practice leadership, but real leadership development happens when you start to apply what you know in your day to day job. It’s how you act and behave that builds your leadership.

Because leadership is to influence. To influence is to have an impact. And impact happens through your behaviours.

So what impact are you having? Or what impact could you have?

Working as leaders ourselves and having worked with hundreds of leaders around the world, here are some of our observations about the behaviours of the best leaders we’ve seen:

• Takes an interest in and cares about other people
• Sees the uniqueness in each person and how they can contribute to the team and the organisation
• Listens to others
• Stays 100% present in the moment
• Involves others and invites them to contribute
• Recognises when people do a good job
• Holds themselves and others accountable
• Practices what they preach
• Conveys a clear purpose and vision for the team

It’s not an exhaustive list, but it’s an indication of how the mechanism of influence works.

We’d love to hear from you. What are your best experiences you’ve had with leaders around you? How did they behave and how did it impact you? Please share below. Thanks.