Be Firm

We speak a lot about supporting your team and giving your team the space and trust to work things out on their own.  We talk about being the pit crew versus the driver.  We talk about having the courage to lead.  We also need to talk about being firm with your team.

As a leader you most definitely have to be flexible, a blob, as life throws its punches and you have to adjust and react to avoid or absorb them.  There comes a time that you must also be firm in your decisions and direction.  You can’t always adjust to concerns or objections.  You can’t always bend to the will of others.

The easy examples are when directives come down from top management, or if there are legal or regulatory requirements that need to be met.  Those are easy because you can always fall back to those emails or documents to prove the direction your team needs to take.  These shut down objections pretty quickly.

The difficult examples are when you don’t have physical or required backup.  There are times when a process needs to change or even just needs to be followed.  Sometimes customers request things that cannot physically be done or, if done, would be unsafe and dangerous.  These are times that you will need to be firm while you are nurturing.

Many times your team’s objections sound reasonable.  It could be that things seem unnecessary or time consuming.  Your folks have a fighting spirit when they question your requests or refuse to complete tasks.  Customers are customers, so you have to do what they say, right?  Managers are steadfast when directions need to be taken.  Leaders are resolute when safety is in play.

When being firm and standing your ground, it is important to be nurturing and understanding of the others involved.  Don’t be a juggernaut and steamroll your ideas through the group.  Come from a place of understanding and concern for their concerns.  Take time, before any announcement, to think about your teams objections and thoughts.  Remember that you should be understanding your team from day one.  You should have been getting to know them and how they work from the start.  Most of these objections and concerns should not come as a surprise, so you should be prepared with your responses.

Responding in a nurturing way will calm them down.  This gives your folks the understanding that you thought about this change, about how it will effect them, and how to help them overcome any obstacles.  This small act of showing that you thought of them will change their reaction in your favor.  They will more easily come onboard and support the actions with the courage that their leader will lead them through tough times.

Being too firm can lead things to break, and being to flexible makes it too easy to be run over.  Be firm but be nurturing.  When directives need to be followed, stand tall and ensure they are being followed.  Help yourself do this by showing that you understand your team’s concerns and are willing and able to help them bust through.