Beyond the Title: Foundational Principles of Effective Leadership

I've found that in leadership, all of our challenges can be categorized into two major categories:

1. Struggling to drive results with your team.
2. Battling self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

If you’re hitting your goals and feel confident in your leadership, then you might not need this guide. But for those who, like me, started out unsure and have faced their fair share of stumbles, these principles are drawn from my journey. I turned my leadership from lackluster to inspiring, and now I’m sharing the lessons I learned along the way.

Ready to transform your leadership? Let's dive in.

My lessons of leadership

Principle 1: Leaders have followers

At the heart of leadership lies a fundamental truth: to be a leader, you must have followers. Without them, you’re merely a solitary figure. This sets the stage for everything else you’ll ever learn about leadership. It is your followers who transform you into a leader. Your importance and success are directly tied to their support and trust.

Why do we have kings and presidents? Why has humanity consistently chosen to place authority in the hands of one over many? The answer lies in the concept of delegated authority, which, when executed effectively, provides greater returns for everyone involved. It allows individuals to focus on what truly matters to them while relying on a leader to steer the collective toward shared goals.

However, this arrangement is precarious. The key is that a leader must create a situation where everyone benefits. Without this mutual benefit, a leader’s tenure is often short-lived. History is replete with examples of leaders who failed their followers and paid the ultimate price:

Julius Caesar: Despite his military prowess and political acumen, Caesar was assassinated by senators who feared he was becoming too powerful. His failure to maintain the trust and support of key political figures led to his dramatic downfall.

Louis XVI of France: His inability to address the financial crisis and social inequalities of his time led to the French Revolution. The people’s discontent culminated in his execution, a stark reminder of the consequences of failed leadership.

In more recent times, the consequences for leaders who fail their followers, while perhaps less lethal, are still significant:

Richard Nixon: The Watergate scandal, a profound breach of trust, led to his resignation. Nixon’s inability to maintain ethical standards cost him his presidency.

Hosni Mubarak of Egypt: After decades in power, he was ousted during the Arab Spring due to widespread corruption, police brutality, and economic issues. The people’s demand for justice and reform ultimately ended his rule.

These examples illustrate a timeless principle: leaders are held accountable by their followers. Leadership is not just about authority; it’s about responsibility. Those who forget this lesson, who prioritize their power over their people, often find their leadership undermined or ended.

In the modern day, leaders still face severe accountability. The checks and balances in political systems, the scrutiny of the public and media, and the ever-present demand for transparency mean that no leader can sustain their position without the trust and support of their followers. Leaders today must be ever-vigilant, mindful of their actions and their impacts on those they lead.

As you navigate your leadership journey, remember this: you are one against many. Your followers are your greatest asset and your most stringent evaluators. Uphold their trust, and they will uphold your leadership.

Principle 2: Enact your leadership immediately

Once you step into a leadership role, hesitation is your enemy. Any delay in asserting your influence can be perceived as uncertainty, lack of confidence, or even incompetence.

If you’re new to leadership, or leading a new team, set up meetings with your teammates immediately. Establish your presence and begin building rapport without delay.

If you already have a team, it’s time to draw a clear line in the sand. Everyone, including you, needs to understand that a significant shift is coming. This is your "burn the ships" moment—there’s no turning back. Communicate through all channels that change is imminent and that you’ll be meeting with them soon to discuss the new direction.

Worried about creating unease? That’s exactly the point. A bit of worry will sharpen their focus and help you drive the transition. It’s crucial to imprint on everyone’s mind that there’s no going back to the old ways. This sense of urgency and uncertainty is a powerful tool to catalyze change and ensure that your leadership is recognized and respected from the start.

Principle 3: Have your team meetings

The follow-up meetings you hold as a new leader are critical to your success. Aim to conduct them in person, where non-verbal communication will speak volumes. Your first goal is to put your team at ease. Whether the change was initiated by you or imposed upon them, they now find themselves facing a new leader. Naturally, they’ll be wondering:

• What will it be like working for this person?
• Will they make my life harder?

People often fear the worst when change occurs. Your first task is to shift them out of this negative mindset. Start by praising them. If you’re unfamiliar with the team, do some research beforehand to understand their roles and achievements. This will be your team, so having a good grasp of their past performance is crucial.

After initial greetings, clearly state the purpose of the meeting. You might say something like:

“I likely do things a little differently (or, if you have an existing team, ‘I’m going to do things differently’), and I want to learn about the team, set a base of expectations, and figure out how we can move forward to success.”

Follow up with praise and support, then listen attentively. You could say:

“My biggest goal here is to ensure that you have the full support you need to be successful. It’s my job to facilitate your success because when you succeed, we all succeed.”

“I’ve noticed that you consistently deliver good results. What do you think contributes to that?”

This approach will help set their minds at ease and get them talking about their successes, which everyone loves to do. It also provides you with valuable insights into how they work, what’s been effective, and areas for potential improvement. Take notes, but avoid delving into details at this stage. Keep the conversation relatively brief and follow up with additional questions if necessary.

Next, discuss your specific goals and targets without detailing how you want to achieve them. Instead, outline what the goals are, why they’re important, and how they were determined. Then, ask your team members how they think you should achieve them. This approach serves two purposes:

It gives you insight into how their minds work, how they approach problems, and how aspirational they can be.

It may reveal new opportunities and obstacles that you hadn’t anticipated.

During this part of the conversation, let your team members lead. Gently introduce your thoughts with prompts like:

“I was thinking about this; what do you think?”

“What if we tried this; how do you think that would go?”

“Have you ever tried this? How did it go?”

You can also inquire about other areas of the company:

“If we did this, how would it impact other areas?”

“Do you foresee any problems with that?”

The goal here is to gain their perspective on how well people work together at lower levels. This will help you understand the real dynamics and informal processes that drive your organization.

By the end of this discussion, you will have achieved two key objectives:

1. In the eyes of your team member, you will have thoroughly listened to and understood them, which is crucial for fostering good followers.
2. You will have started defining the work needed to achieve your goals, with input from the team member. This is critical because they will be responsible for executing the work. Their buy-in is essential for taking ownership and accountability.

Finally, open the conversation more broadly to catch opportunities and obstacles beyond the immediate plan. This helps you understand the larger company context. Ask questions like:

“What’s holding this company back? Why can’t we achieve even more?”

“How far do you think we could go?”

“If I gave you a team of people, how would you deploy them?”

The third point is critical. If you want to understand people, give them power. After asking this question, you may physically see their face change as they contemplate a new perspective. From thinking about me to thinking about a team I run is a fundamentally different challenge. It will put them in a new frame of mind that opens further thought and ideas to flow. Two things will come out of this:

1. They will have ideas on how to do more if more resources are given. This is great information to start to put into your bigger plan to pitch to higher up executives.
2. They may say that they don’t know or that they don’t need a team.

Point number 2 is tricky. This is of course not right, adding people can always increase the scope of potential above one person alone. Don’t pressure them on this topic if they give you an answer like this. It shows you two things:

1. They are likely not ready for a management position.
2. They prioritize their comfort over company performance.

Point 1 is something to follow up on later. Not everyone wants to manage, and that’s ok. If they do aspire to management, you’re going to have to work on this with them.

Point 2 is a bit more troubling. It tells you that they will need some pushing from you to expand their mindset and capabilities. It should identify to you that this person is more of a “stay in my lane” type of person where they just want to do their job and go home.

This is fine, but it tells you what to expect from them going forward. Don’t expect them to be overachievers. This doesn’t mean they won’t be an effective team member. In fact, some very high performers are like this. It just means that if more support is needed to grow, it’s going to have to come differently than asking this person to do more.

For example, you’re likely going to have to take the lead on identifying new opportunities and get the ball rolling. Maybe you assign another person to work in this area to create competition. Once they see that more results are coming in, they will quickly shift their mindset to get on board. They usually just need some help to get started.

Principle 4: End on a personal note

By now, your team should see that you're there to support them, listen to them, and understand them. Their minds are engaged, having reflected on past successes and future possibilities. They should feel more comfortable with you.

Thank and Transition

Now is the perfect time to thank them for their time and generosity in helping out. The goal is to build momentum into the next steps, which are:

1. Deepen your connection with team members
2. Align the pathway to enact your plans for success

Personal Connection

Engage in some personal topics to strengthen your connection. Ask about their families, favorite sports teams, where they went to school, and other professional but personal interests. If you know something already, bring it up:

• “I know you’re a football fan; who’s your favorite team?”
• “How are they doing this year?”

Take mental notes on their answers to follow up later and deepen your relationship.

Lay Out the Next Steps

Thank them again for their time and outline the next steps. You might say something like:

“I’m going to work on putting together a plan based on our discussion. It should address some of your challenges and open us up to more success. I’ll let you know when it’s ready so we can get started.”

By showing your support, engaging personally, and outlining clear next steps, you'll build a foundation of trust and momentum that will carry your team forward.

Principle 5: Putting it all together

After your team meetings, you should have a comprehensive understanding of your company and its people. This insight is crucial for positioning your team for success. With this foundation, you can now develop a larger plan. Engage your team by seeking their feedback. The key is to gain their general approval and ownership of the ideas, as they will be the ones executing the work.

This leads to a few final notes.

As a leader, your focus should be on the high-level vision and mission. Delegate authority to your team to achieve the goals you've defined together, and trust them to come through. Allow them to make mistakes (as long as they aren't catastrophic), guiding rather than controlling them. This approach fosters a culture where mistakes are learning opportunities. When mistakes happen, you learn, pivot, and move forward. This culture of acceptance also benefits you when you make mistakes, as the team will be more understanding.

Trust between you and your team will strengthen as they see you support their autonomy. This trust will inspire them to go above and beyond to succeed.

Now, some employees might be disengaged or skeptical, withdrawing from the process. These individuals require more attention. Some employees can be so disengaged and possibly jaded that they pull back from the process entirely. These aren’t bad people, but they will require more work.

Lean into their skepticism. Identify it and gently bait it to come out:

“I notice you’re staying quiet on this subject, is there something I should know?”

“I’ve heard it said that this will never work, what do you think?”

Experienced employees may be jaded from past negative experiences. Develop a bond by acknowledging these experiences and discussing how to turn things around. Occasionally call them to let them vent and gently steer the conversation back to positive objectives:

“Yeah, I can’t believe this is happening, but we can still make progress and achieve our bonus this year if we do this…”

They will appreciate that you’ve heard them out and will get back to work.

For those withholding but not jaded, try to understand their broader goals:

“Where do you want to be in 5 years?”

“What do you want to do with your life?”

Get broader to try to understand them. They likely will be incentivized by different things such as new opportunities or further training to get them into an area that interests them. Encourage this. If they move on to great success they will think back fondly of you. And, you never know how they may be able to pay you back. You may be working for them one day.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you start to implement these principles, you’ll slowly develop a deep understanding of your team. This is going to enable you to position them for success. It’s going to develop a culture where mistakes are ok, but to adapt and move on. It’s going to develop trust between you and your team.

At the end of the day, it’s going to enable you to feel like your team has your back and you have theirs. It’s going to position your team to shine.

When all of this happens, you will see improved results. You’re going to feel confident and empowered by your team. And, before long, everyone is going to be asking you how you were able to become such as effective leader.

If you’ve found this article helpful, please take a few seconds to share it with your network. Also, consider following me on X—I love engaging with my community there and would be delighted to answer any questions you might have. Also consider subscribing to my newsletter to receive more content like this.