Support The Direction Of The Company With No Hidden Agendas

Do the leaders in your organization understand that their main job, after making sure Monday morning doesn’t suck, is to support the direction of the company with no hidden agendas? Let me ask you this…when you have a meeting with the leaders in your organization and there is a key message that needs to be delivered to THEIR teams, does it get communicated as “Us” or “They”? There is a huge difference between the two, and I’m afraid a lot of your leaders don’t even realize what they’re doing. Here’s the difference:

• “WE just had a meeting, and I am so excited to share the new plan with you.”  
• “THEY just told us about a new plan and asked me to communicate it to you.”

Yeah, it happens. All the time. It’s probably the biggest obstacle I face when I work with companies and leadership teams. A great leader understands that when the door is closed, they need to have the courage to debate, ask questions if they don’t understand, and challenge the leadership of the company. And if you’re still not clear, still don’t quite understand, or don’t support the message, that’s okay. But your leaders need to have the maturity and professionalism to understand when that door opens and it’s time to communicate the message to the entire team, then it’s the greatest thing you’ve ever heard of, and you couldn’t be more excited about it. If you’re a leader and you don’t support the direction of the company, that’s okay. It really is. It’s just not okay to stay. You must leave.

You can’t be a leader in a company if you don’t support the direction. Well, you can be a leader, but you’ll never show up as genuine in your interactions. People are smart, and they can tell which leaders are “all in” and which ones aren’t. I’m guessing you know that too. You know which leaders are buying what you’re selling, and which ones aren’t. What you do about it could make all the difference. Especially for your high performers looking for that culture they want to be a part of.

Originally posted on Forbes.com