Your Principles Aren't the Ones You'd List. They're the Ones Your Team Would.

Prompted by “What is authentic leadership and how can it drive impact”, World Economic Forum (Rashimah Binte Rajah).

A World Economic Forum piece by Rashimah Binte Rajah makes a pointed argument about authentic leadership. It isn't saying what you think or “just being yourself.” It's having a few clear principles and sticking to them under pressure, so the people around you know in advance what you'll do.

Michael Riedl, CEO of Team Internet, offers a simple test: “could your team write down your operating principles without asking you?” His company shares three openly: evidence-based decisions, unequivocal accountability, and deliberate urgency. He points out that a leader who claims to be evidence-based but blames the team when a bet fails has taught everyone the first principle was decorative.

For small and medium-sized businesses, this plays out fast and mostly out of the owner's sight. Your team watches what you do on a bad day: when a big customer is angry, a deal is on the line, or cash is tight. The principles they'd write down come from those moments, not from a values statement.

Could your team write down your principles?

Whether you're a CEO or an owner-operator wearing several hats, you act in more roles than most leaders, so people get more chances to see whether you're the same person in each. And nobody on payroll is likely to tell you if you aren't.

Test it out: write down the three principles you believe you run the company by. Then ask two people on your team, separately, to write down what they think those principles are. Pick people who will be straight with you, and don't coach them. Compare the three lists, and treat any gap as information about your behavior, not about their understanding.

Looking for a place to discuss issues like this with other local business leaders? Join one of our no-cost Rochester CEO insight sessions and test your ideas with your peers.

Originally posted on LinkedIn ↗