Sweet Tea For Followers

My adjustment to moving to a small southern town, in the midlands of South Carolina, went pretty smoothly last year. Raised in a small Pennsylvania town, the events and idiosyncrasies of living in a rural community are unique, sharing many universal truths between different rural towns. Mom and Pop businesses are the way to do business, everyone seems to know you, and if your Grandmother happened to be one of the original school teachers to the area and taught most of the adults in the town, well…you cannot get away with doing anything and not be reported to your family.

Another great thing about rural areas is local food favorites. One which was reintroduced to me here in South Carolina was Sweet Tea. Oh this southern decadence of sending your blood glucose through the roof with a perfect blend of tea and sugar cannot be understated. If you are lucky, some might even share a lemon with you.

I don’t prefer Sweet Tea. I know, all you southern readers are holding your chests and gasping. It’s not that I don’t like, it, I don’t prefer it. At my age, calories are a fickle friend and I try to choose wisely which friend I let in. But it is just that, my preference.

The same can be said about decision made daily by leaders. The type of queries a leader can get run the spectrum of impactful decisions to the organization to the mundane to maintain bureaucratic operations of an organization. Leaders need to be thoughtful, objective, and to critically think through each decision. But rightfully so, some questions require more thought and deliberation than others.

So what happens when a follower of yours makes a decision on solving a question or problem and it is not how you would have answered? A critical junction in a leader-follower relationship which helps with future growth of this follower and growth to the organization can be molded by your response as the leader. Was the decision truly wrong in response to direction given in an organization policy, a statute, law, or direction for safe patient care? The leader needs to have full insight to the problem and then needs to contemplate the response.

Leaders can and are guilty, author included, of correcting a follower on a decision based on our preference. And it is so easy to do. I feel like I do it daily sometimes even with my kids. If as leaders we don’t stop and start thinking about the problem before rendering a correction, then our followers will never grow to make independent decisions. Followers will stop acting out of leadership and start acting out of fear of what you as a leader would want, even though your decision was based on a preference. Additionally, constant correction for preference undermines follower confidence. And leadership without confidence stops future growth of a leader…failure.

Growing your followers to be great leaders requires us as the leaders to give them the chance to grow and make decisions; some decisions based on hard right and wrong choices and others on preference. The leader needs to know what decision is required. Step back and learn as the leader when it is time to sip on Sweet Tea or grab the Diet Pepsi. Growing in our leadership means letting followers grow in their leadership!

So are you guilty of using your preference in a follower’s decision? Do you believe as the leader your decisions and guidance, regardless of the situation, should be followed no matter the followers thought? What has worked for you on encouraging your followers to make great decisions? Share your thoughts!

Leading with you,

Dean

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