One of the pillars of a winning culture is recognition, but when we try to take credit for everyone else’s achievement instead of giving it to those who earned it, we are truly hurting that culture.
Nothing undermines a leader more quickly, or more thoroughly than them trying to claim all of the credit for success for themselves.
When we do this, basically we are saying I did this all on my own, I didn’t need my team, whilst we might not say this explicitly, this is exactly what our teams hear.
Leadership success is all about helping our teams achieve greatness, it’s not about the leader’s individual contribution.
Recognition is a powerful motivator, when used correctly it will drive our teams to go the extra mile, push a little harder and achieve a little more.
So when we not only withhold recognition, but keep it all for ourselves, then this becomes a massive de-motivator.
Why should our teams do anything more for us? In fact, I have heard people say, the next time the leader needs something they can do it themselves as they will take the credit anyway.
Now as leaders we are losing our followers, and pretty soon we will be all alone, and a leader without followers, isn’t a leader.
When it comes to recognition, as a leader it truly is better to give than to receive, and definitely better than to take.
I think that this is down to a lack of self-confidence in the leader.
Everyone knows the importance of leadership, so even if you give 100% of the credit for success away, some will still come back to you, and you will retain the support of the team.
It always amazes me when leaders do this, but it is always a sign of a bad leader.
If you want to be a successful leader, then give 100% of the credit for success away.
If you want to learn more about creating highly engaged teams or being a better leader click the link to make an appointment to talk about how I can help.
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