Maree's Blog

Leadership Shadow

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07 August 2019

The type of shadow a leader casts is crucial to good leadership and when leading others through change.

What we do, not what we say, stays in people’s minds and influences our behaviour. A few years ago a leader of a corporation stated that everyone in the company would now fly economy and not business class.

The next time a team flew somewhere everyone moved to their seat towards the back of the plane and then realised their leader was sitting at the front!

In contrast a leader, lining up with his team to check-in, was advised he was being upgraded to business class. The leader picked a junior team member at the back of the line and asked if they had ever flown business class - and provided the upgrade to them.

Be mindful of what example and the shadow you are casting and be careful with where it lands. Even if you think you’re not being watched, somebody is seeing what you’re doing and they’re drawing conclusions from that. The level of trust and respect your team has for you are directly influenced by what you do.

What are you doing to cast the right type of shadow?