Public Safety Insights Newsletter: May 14, 2014

The #1 Job of a Leader
Public Safety Insight:	The number one job of a leader is taking care of his/her people.

 

Retired General Rick Hillier, former Chief of the Defence Staff for Canadian Forces, is a distinguished leader. So on May 5th when he declared, "The number one job of a leader is people," he had the attention of every one of the nearly 600 attendees of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs’ annual conference in Toronto. For 90 minutes he drove home the point that leadership is all about people by telling story after compelling story about the men and women who had served under his command. Specifically, he said, there are two steps to a leader’s number one job: inspiring others to join you in what you do, and drawing inspiration from your followers to keep you going.

When you inspire others, according to General Hillier, people want to work with you to change the world. They will fight to join your team. And not only will they bring their bodies to work, which they are paid to do, they also will bring their minds. Whatever you focus on, they focus on as well.

When you are down, he continued, you need only look around you to find inspiration in the people who follow you. When you are surrounded by those who share your vision and are ready to do whatever it takes to achieve it, you cannot help but be inspired  by them.

Here are nine ways General Hillier said that leaders can inspire their followers. You inspire people by:

1. Having a vision that they can get behind.  
2. Aligning your priorities, words, actions, and values with that vision – i.e., truly walking the talk.
3. Thinking outside the box.
4. Equipping them properly to do the job you’ve asked them to do.
5. Being there with them and giving them credit, with compassion, in the presence of others, and in a personal way.
6. Not blaming others when things go wrong, and taking responsibility for whatever happened.
7. Standing up for them, even if it means putting your own job on the line by doing the right thing.
8. Creating learning organizations, which make people more competitive and save lives when they get to learn and practice ahead of time.
9. Being yourself, and letting others see you grow, learn, and mature.

General Hillier closed by saying that heroism comes from the leadership you provide and the inspiration you create.

How many of the nine actions above can you honestly say you practice regularly? Which one(s) will you commit to adopting today? Following these steps consistently will result in a significantly higher likelihood of achieving your vision through the efforts of inspired followers who, in turn, serve as a source of inspiration for you, their leader.

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To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.PublicSafetyInsights.net.

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©2014 Pat Lynch | Public Safety Insights