Front Line Leadership: How Anyone Can Take The Lead at Work
The Jerk Free Workplace: How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace, isn’t just about how NOT to be a jerk at work. I mean, that’s certainly helpful when it comes to creating more inspiring workplace cultures, but really it’s the bare minimum, isn’t it? What The Jerk-Free Workplace is really about is front line leadership and how everyone in your workplace has the capacity to be a leader at work. Moreover, if you want to create a more inspiring, collaborative, innovative, resilient, and service-focused culture, you NEED as many employees as possible stepping up as leaders at work. The following is an excerpt from The Jerk-Free Workplace. It’s a simple but important reminder of all the behaviors necessary to step up as a leader at work, and a reminder of some of the things that can make a huge difference at work that don’t require any extra training, skill, or talent.
Things That Require No Talent That You Have 100% Control Over at Work
When you consider what it takes to contribute to a positive workplace and be a leader at work, I want to remind you that it doesn’t take any special training, innate talent, or particular set of skills (and, yes, I’m referencing Liam Neeson’s character from the movie Taken).
You don’t need to earn a master’s degree in thoughtfulness to be, well, thoughtful.
So with that in mind, here is a list of some simple behaviors that require no special skills, things that will make a real difference in your workplace if everyone committed to them … starting with you, because it really does start with you.
- Showing up to work versus showing up at work
- Being on time for work
- Being on time for meetings
- Saying “hello” to people as you walk by
- Smiling and telling your face that you are happy to be there
- Being aware of what your body language might be communicating
- Taking the time to listen
- Responding to e-mails sometime this century
- Putting down your smart phone to have a real conversation
- Stopping the spread of gossip in its tracks
- Praising your colleagues
- Saying “please”
- Saying “thank-you”
- Asking for feedback
- Apologizing when you need to apologize
- Anticipating people’s needs
- Putting in a little extra effort
- Being passionate
- Going the extra inch
- Following through
- Following up with someone
- Checking in on colleagues
- Being prepared
- Being coachable and open to positive feedback
- Being open to new ideas
- Being a cheerleader and an encourager
- Bringing your sense of humor along for the ride
- Having a more positive, supportive attitude
That’s quite a long list, and no doubt you could probably think of even more. And not one of those items requires any special training, talent, or skills. Not one.
This is why everyone has the capacity to be a leader at work – starting with you.
Copyright Michael Kerr 2022. Michael Kerr is a Canadian Hall of Fame speaker who travels the world researching, writing, and speaking about inspiring workplace cultures. He is also the author of 8 books including, The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank and The Jerk-Free Workplace, which you can order now by hopping over here: The Jerk-Free Workplace: How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace.
(The above photo is me making a really relevant, insightful point in one of my presentations. Not actual size.)
