As an office professional, how much of a leader are you? How much of a leader do you need to be? Asks Dr Paul Bridle


More information from Paul Bridle, Information Contextualiser, Bridle International on www.paulbridle.com


A little can go a long way


I 24 issue 2 •


I love cooking but the skill is the ability to get the right ingredients and cook the food well, but know how much spice to add!


Too much spice can ruin the food, and too little can be bland. With spice, a little goes a long way. It made me think about leadership.


Like spice we can be too much of a leader and become too involved.


Equally too little can mean the leadership is really lacking and nothing really happens. It is a challenge to find the right balance. Too much does not enhance the food, nor bring out the flavour but rather smothers it.


There are times when more is needed: If you want a hot dish, it means you add more spices, which means that you need to be more involved and its vital that you are in control. But not all dishes need to be hot dishes.


So how do you run your office?


Using the cooking metaphor, I ask you: Do you try to dominate the


careersuccess


‘taste’? Or do you try to enhance the ‘flavour’ and bring out the best in the ‘food’? At the end of the day, you want to create a great experience for the person ‘eating the food’ and not to make the ‘meal’ distasteful.


Leadership is about creating an experience for customers that makes them want to come back. It isn’t about dominating their ‘taste buds’ and being the only ‘taste in the dish’. This month I am asking you to consider your leadership style and think of it like ‘seasoning’. You want to add enough seasoning to bring out the best in others. You need to be consciously considering how much you need to be adding.


Cooking is an art like a conductor in an orchestra who brings out the best of the various musicians and does not try to play all the instruments themselves.


So I ask you to consider the following questions:


Your job is to enhance the


performance of the people you work with - so how will you do this?


• When issues arise, do you rush in


and dominate the situation? Is this the best way to bring out the best in them?


• Or are you asking the questions that leads them to tell you what they should do?


Cooking is an art and one that requires ongoing practice to try new and better ways to enhance the meal. Likewise leading people requires ongoing practice.


A good chef works at the dish learning what works and what can be improved upon. Once the dish is mastered, then the chef starts again with another dish. process of learning.


It is a constant


Likewise with every leadership situation: Take time to learn what works and enjoy the learning process.


I hope this metaphor helps you consider your leadership approach..


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