Is Good Leadership Mandatory In Your Organisation?

Happy New Year everyone, first edition of 2025.

I wanted to start the year on the right track - a little more big-picture before getting into tactical stuff.

One of the reasons why I started this newsletter in the first place was because I believe that everyone has what it takes to be a great leader and manager - they merely needed to learn what to do. The tips and tricks per se.

But something I’ve learned throughout the course of my work is that, sure, with a little bit of effort and learning - everyone may have what it takes to be a better manager. But why go through the trouble?

“What’s In It For Me?”

If you are reading this you are likely, like me, a person who innately cares about people. We might take a rather altruistic view of management, since we may be concerned with having a positive impact on others - we hope that others believe the same.

I’ve found that most people don’t care about being better leaders, and rightly so. Being a good person is difficult. Thinking about others, considering their feelings, choosing to do right by others even when it is difficult. So why would they go through the trouble of becoming better leaders? What’s in it for them?

As HR professionals this may be a struggle you face. You can send them for training - how to handle conflict, how to give feedback, how to have coaching conversations … and the whole lot. Some managers may love it, but the majority of managers couldn’t care less.

If you find that all too familiar, this is why:

There is not enough (if any) incentive for your people to be better leaders.

Understanding Culture

Culture is the aggregate of the behaviours you can expect of your people. For instance, if you were to assert that you have a culture where people are supported in their learning, it would only be true if you observe that anybody who requires help is met with support and guidance. If it doesn’t happen in practice, it is not your culture, it is merely an aspiration or assertion.

To create culture, and have it actually be true in practice.

For assertions to become habits, you need to enforce them.

A common adage in the Org Culture scene is "What you permit, you promote. What you allow, you encourage. What you condone, you own. What you tolerate, you deserve.”

So what exactly are you promoting, encouraging, condoning, and tolerating?

Are You Making Good Leadership Mandatory?

Here’s the bottom line - if you do not make it a necessity for people in your organisation to be good leaders, good leaders will forever be an exception rather than the norm.

But what exactly does it mean to make good leadership mandatory?

• Can your people get promoted without being a team player?

• Can employees be placed in management roles without embodying your desired leadership qualities?

• Do you even have a list or standard of desired leadership qualities?

• Do you reward good leadership?

• Do good leadership behaviours get rewarded as much as competence-related performance?

Simply put, in your organisation - do people get rewarded for being a good person? Or get punished for doing the opposite?

And I mean rewarded tangibly. Not with a pat on the back or a word of thanks. It does not necessarily have to be with money or promotions - but will exhibiting the right behaviours at the very least considered in monetary or progression based rewards?

If the answer is no, then expect there to be more bad leaders than good.

Make Good Leadership Mandatory

We know how difficult it is to be a good leader. So unless you give people a good enough reason to choose the more difficult route - they won’t.

The TLDR is,

• Culture is determined by the aggregate of expected behaviours

• Expected behaviours are determined by what is rewarded/punished

• Being a good leader is difficult. It requires you to do the right thing even when it is difficult to do so.

• When you allow people to choose between the easy route or the hard alternative, without appropriate incentive, they will choose the easy route

• Unless you make good leadership mandatory (reward good behaviours, promote leaders, penalise poor behaviour etc.) people will always choose the easier route.

So something to think about as you consider your people efforts for the coming year. Before you go out and spend money, energy, and time on executing your plans to level up your leaders this year - stop and ask yourself if being a good leader is mandatory, necessary, or even encouraged in your organisation.

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help:

Check out our Feedback Factor Program for Managers

→ If you’re struggling with getting the best out of your people. We help teach your managers a simple and easy to execute system for using feedback to effortlessly change behaviours, improve teamwork and drive performance. To find out more click here

Invite me to speak at your organisation

→ If you have goals for your people, and are looking for someone to inspire, educate, or give your people the skills and tools to take your teams to the next level - reach out to explore our list of past engagements, or work with us to customize something that fits your needs.

Reach out at [email protected]