Introduction to the 4 Steps to Leadership

Being that I come from an athletic background, the majority of times when I heard the term “teamwork”, I would think of all the old clichés like, “There’s no I in team!” or “Take one for the team!”. But it took me getting into the business world to really realize what true teamwork is. For instance, one of my youth basketball players remarked to me once when I said the “I in team” cliché, “But there is an M and an E”! I wanted to be angry, but when I thought about it, it was true. That is one of the fundamental issues with leading teams, most of the time we have no idea HOW to lead. Lots of people spout “Take one for the team!”, but few people actually know where the etymology of the phrase comes from. The phrase comes from baseball, where a batter allows a pitch to hit him and advance to first base instead of doing what is natural and moving out of the way of a speeding, hard baseball that’s heading towards him! Taking one for the team is the ultimate self sacrifice, doing something that could hurt you, for the betterment of the team. So next time you are tossing that cliché out to a teammate, take a moment to think of the original meaning, and see if that is what your expectations are.

Often as leaders, we throw out these empty phrases and expect action. Why? Many times, it is because that is what we have seen in leadership ourselves. Leadership of adults is not an easy task. When we are in the power position with children, many times our power is not impugned. But when dealing with adults, it is our actions that show our true intentions, which puts us in a tough situation. Sometimes, we have been thrown into a position of leadership, and we don’t know what to say. We have this new position of leadership, and everyone is looking at us, so we feel like we need to say SOMETHING. What often comes out is a mixture of clichés that we have heard throughout the years from many other leaders. If we are unprepared, our speeches can end up sounding like Eddie Murphy’s character in the movie, The Distinguished Gentleman, when after winning an election he gives this sterling speech with a mixture of many political catch phrases, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but for what you can do for your country. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Live free or die! And in conclusion, read my lips!" Now that is an example of saying a lot while not saying anything!
With that being said, let’s talk about the Four Steps to Phenomenal team leadership. I love sports, so I am going to give you a football analogy to prove each part, but it applies to all organizations, whether they be sports teams, businesses, or community groups. You can look at any organization that is failing, and I would be willing to bet that they are missing one or more of these necessary steps. The four steps are Mutual Purpose, Empowered People, Proper Change Communication, and Visionary Leadership.

Stay Tuned for a breakdown of each one of the steps...

Oginga Carr

CEO Epiphany Consulting LLC