A leader only feels a fraction of what the team feels (but usually skewed to the negative). Whether you are a team leader, principal, or area superintendent, you feel a fraction of what your team feels.
Why is this?
Because the leader carries 100% of the passion, whereas the team only carries a portion, and that portion depends on the culture of the team.
It’s not wrong, critical, or demeaning. It’s just the way it is. Knowing this fact can save your team from disaster.
This is a powerful insight for several reasons.
- When you’re tired, you can guarantee the team feels twice as tired.
- When you’re stressed or unclear, your people are bordering on chaos.
- When you don’t know how to navigate the journey, your team is contemplating mutiny.
The leader carries more enthusiasm, and this curbs the negative emotions that the team members feel on a regular basis. The leader is also affected by different job dissatisfiers and thus different emotional pulses. But when that pulse leans to the negative, beware. It’s a canary in the climate mine.
What a leader feels might just be more important than what a leader knows.
What a leader feels is more important than what a leader can do, because it is the very insight that connects you to the pulse of your people.
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PS – Season 2 of the Mafost Mashup starts today with an interview with one of Texas’ most insightful and engaging principals.