Leader as Champion
One of the six characteristics of an effective leader is the ability to be a Champion. What does a leader do as a Champion?
When I started to identify characteristics and behaviors that separate effective leaders from non-effective leaders and good leaders from, well quite frankly horrible leaders (we have all experienced them), it became noticeably clear that leaders who Champion do certain things very well by nature and leaders without this characteristic struggle mightily and fail when this characteristic is required to succeed.
A Champion is a leader who is an advocate, a voice, a defender, and an avid supporter of the organization, the people, and the products/services the leader represents and has the responsibility to lead. In short, a Champion is the best salesperson that the organization has, a Leader Champion is the face of the organization, division, department, and/or team.
A Champion is a tireless advocate of people, products and services
Champions:
Have social dexterity, having the ability to navigate a variety of social situations with ease.
Possess value clarity - They communicate personal values and connect them with the organization’s values.
Lead by example.
Are the hub of connecting individuals to ensure collaboration is successful – a key differentiator to individuals who do not possess the Champion characteristic.
Promote a culture of feedback by modeling healthy feedback.
Are keen to forces that cause disruption and therefore need to step forward and Champion the organization to overcome challenges and come out stronger, better and more agile.
Unfortunately, not all individuals who have leadership responsibility have the ability to Champion. Not only do these individuals not have the innate ability to Champion, they are not able to pivot and bring forward Champion behaviors when needed. And what is the result when leaders fail to Champion:
·When a leader lacks social dexterity, they remove themselves from contact with other organizational members; this causes disengagement, disloyalty and mistrust.
·When a leader lacks the ability to Champion people, this leads to demotivation.
·When a leader lacks the ability to Champion healthy feedback; and worse yet engages in the trend of “radical feedback” without knowing the first thing about how to engage in feedback in the first place, destroys any hope of open discussion, but also shuts down teamwork and increases team conflict.
The key is to understand if you exhibit Champion behaviors innately and to what degree. In addition, it is of critical importance to exercise the Champion leadership muscle and identify when conditions require Champion behaviors are needed to combat disruption in the environment, in the organization, and/or people. Waking up the leadership muscle is what pivoting is all about.
If you are ready to explore how you can lead more effectively by becoming a Pivot Leader, we can help.