Tech Leadership, In So Many Words … #7 Responsibility

You have responsibilities and power as a leader
that impacts directly on people’s lives

Jack Welch formerly CEO at General Electric
talked about the leader as “Chief Broomer”
like those you see at the Winter Olympics
In the sport of Curling

Clearing stuff out of the way
So the people around them can act and do the things
That the organisation needs

He also talked about leaders as
“Chief Meaning Officer”

To show followers
Where you’re going
Why you’re going there
What’s in it for them to go there with you.

A leader is someone who draws others by his or her voice, actions, or choices
but ultimately you can make a long list of key leadership responsibilities
when it often comes down to very simple rules of the road …

1st;
You can’t lead others before taking responsibility for leading yourself.

Andrew Bryant expert and best selling author on Self Leadership talks about it being the “practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feeling and actions towards your objectives”

And he focuses around these 3 key pillars;

Self Awareness
Self Regulation
Self Learning

Responsibility starts with our own behaviour as leaders
with who we are; because the environment that we create around us
is simply a reflection of our thinking and of our behaviour

2nd;
Your responsibility for creating the right environment is also about making people feel safe and empowered to deliver their optimal performance.

Maya Angelou captured for me a key essence of effective leadership with these words …

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And from Leadership is an Art the author leaves us in no doubt where your leadership responsibility should ultimately be focused …

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality
The last is to say thank you.
In between the leader is a servant”

Want to find out more about CTO Academy and our Technology Leadership Courses, including a range of lectures that look at Responsibility and Power in Leadership?

Visit the CTO Academy Website and in particular our executive leadership course, The Digital MBA for Technology Leaders that is winning rave reviews from global technology leaders