Are You an Effective Leader? 3 Ways to Know

by Dr. Ed Slover 

In the words of best-selling author on leadership John Maxwell, “Leadership is an influence process…nothing more, nothing less.” The interesting thing to appreciate about whether you are influential in the lives of others relates to the degree others allow you to be influential or have influence with them. Said differently, when people believe you have their best interests in mind, will commit to their growth and development, and will empower them to become the best versions of themselves, they begin to trust you. As trust builds so does commitment and, through commitment, they give you the ability to be influential in their lives.

Now, let’s have you answer the question: Are You an Effective Leader? As you reflect, be honest with yourself. It can be easy to take each foundational principle for granted, especially if you believe you are a leader. Take stock, however, that “influence” and “control” are not different sides of the same coin with the former serving as the basis for leadership and the latter serving to create dependency.

#1: Are my employees “willing followers?”

Anyone that has spent any time studying leadership knows that the prerequisite to be a leader is having a willing follower. Having positional authority, being a manager, or being in a “leadership position” does not automatically make you a leader. While positional authority gives you a legitimate right to provide direction to your employees, it does not necessarily make you influential. A manager can get an employee to do what they want them to do, but without influence, employees will do just enough to keep the manager off their back. They will engage in “malicious compliance” and simply check the boxes that need to get checked while providing the manager, the team, and the organization with minimal energy, effort, and time. In short, they are not willing followers driven by commitment; rather, they are compliant automatons who complete their work because they “have to” instead of “wanting to.”

In order to answer this question, you need to determine whether the people that you “lead” follow you willingly. Do my employees feel empowered to perform their job and complete their work the way they deem best? Do they strive to maximize their performance and give you, the team, and the organization maximum energy, effort, and time? Do my employees go above and beyond the demands of their role without being asked? Do they perceive themselves as something beyond a “means to an end” and that their contributions matter, that their contributions are recognized? If you are able to answer “yes” to these questions, you have done a terrific job building trust and commitment and becoming an influential part of your follower’s lives.

#2: Do you make your employees better?

Leadership should never be simplified to sound bites or quotations, as making your employees better and improving their lives is much more involved. Accordingly, the first thing you must do as a leader is make your employees better at their job. After all, you (likely) hired them to perform a specific role and complete specific tasks. Newly hired employees have every expectation that you will be more directive until they have become proficient enough to complete their work on their own. As employees “mature” in their role, they expect you to become more supportive while helping them grow and develop in their current position and for future responsibilities. Far too often “leaders” do not place enough emphasis on the growth and development of their employees, as there is a perception that such activities detract from the performance of the employee in their current role. This belief is misguided. Helping employees to grow and develop, once they have demonstrated a high degree of proficiency in their role, creates more commitment because they believe you have their best interests in mind.

In order to answer this question, you need to evaluate your involvement into how each employee has improved and in what specific ways. Have I trained my employees to become highly proficient, highly productive in their current role and has their performance improved? Have I provided growth and development opportunities to my employees outside of their current job function and in what ways? Have I worked with my employees to create unique, Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to help them acquire a commitment to the practice of making your followers better and improving their lives.

#3: Do you “flex” your style to meet the needs of your employees?

We all have a worldview, which is to say we all see the world through our own unique filter. From a leadership perspective, if you apply your filter or the way in which you see the world exactly the same to each of your employees, the effectiveness of your leadership will suffer. Conversely, if you possess the ability to “flex” your style and, in effect, customize your leadership to meet the needs of each employee uniquely, you have a chance to create productive relationships and remarkable results. How you go about doing this relates to your commitment to getting to know each employee’s likes or dislikes, what motivates them and de-motivates them, how receptive they are to feedback, whether they want a lot of guidance and direction or whether they want freedom in their role, and/or their future aspirations to become a leader. These are but a few of the things you must learn about each employee. Without such knowledge the ability to modify your style is compromised.

In order to answer this question, you need to assess how well you know each of your employees on an individual level. Do you engage with the new employee (<6 months in role) differently as compared to the longer tenured employees (>3 years)? Do you apply a varied incentive structure to all employees the same way? Do you provide feedback to your employees that uniquely meets their developmental needs? Do you empower them to determine how best their work should be completed and do you get out of the way? If you are able to answer “yes” to these questions, you demonstrate the ability to adjust your style and lead in a manner that aligns best with your follower’s needs.

In conclusion, your reflection on each of these questions serves as the foundation from which you begin to lead differently moving forward (unless of course you already lead this way) provided that you make it actionable. As with anything, it is one thing to know how to do something, but it is far different to apply it. When done well, effectively leading others is incredibly challenging, but the rewards are palpable. The concepts are simple but not easy and nothing should be taken for granted.