Hey, it's Steve Cockram here.

Welcome to the Relational Intelligence at Work newsletter where every Tuesday you’ll receive an email directly to your inbox from either Jeremie or myself.

This newsletter aims to support you on your personal growth journey, and to equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to excel as a leader.

For today’s message, I want to offer a simple definition of what it means to truly be a leader in today’s ever-changing corporate and business environment.

Let’s dive in…

The term leader is used in multiple contexts and is a very loaded word!

• Coaches use it when talking to their players
• Parents use it when talking to their children
• Managers use it when talking to their employees

“It’s time to step up and be a better leader!” they say.

Well… What does it actually mean to be a “better leader?”

After spending the last two decades helping members of teams and organisations grow in their leadership capabilities, I’ll happily admit there isn’t one silver bullet!

However, at GiANT we’ve developed a number of simple tools and principles that I believe help define the characteristics of “better leaders” we can all learn from.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to the “Responsive Leader” tool!

It’s a tool to help you define expectations for what it means to be a healthy and productive leader and create a healthy leadership environment in your team, office, or at home.

More than anything, I want to reinforce that being a Responsive Leader is a heart attitude more than a skillset.

It’s the daily attitude of being secure, confident, and humble in how you lead yourself and interact with others.

This does NOT mean you become submissive, indecisive, or try to be something you’re not.

Quite the opposite actually… It's about acknowledging that we get the best from ourselves and others when we are confident and open to learning, growing, and collaborating with others.

When a challenge is brought to a Responsive Leader, they seek to avoid becoming defensive - they stay open-minded, listen well, own up to their mistakes and turn them into growth opportunities.

On the other hand, the Resistant Leader (as seen in the tool in the red) is often insecure, arrogant, and full of pride.

Their tendency is to become defensive when healthily challenged or arrogantly assume that developing themselves and their leadership is not a priority for them any more.

If you respond in this way people will soon get the message!

As a Pioneer I’m all too aware that it’s hard to challenge someone carrying a grenade launcher, I make it a principle never to respond directly to a challenge in the moment if someone has been brave enough to share it with me.

I ask clarifying questions to make sure I’ve fully heard what they are trying to say and then go away and reflect on it.

In my experience there is always some truth in what they share and an opportunity for me to grow. I then make sure I thank them for sharing their feedback.

The mindset of the Resistant leader gets in the way of people bringing their best. People start to work around them and their insecurities, people play politics and protect their futures.

Resistant leaders never lead the teams everyone wants to be part of!

That’s why learning to recognize and reinforce a responsive, growth-oriented mindset is key, both for ourselves and the people we lead.

So, circling back to the question above, what does it truly mean to be a “better leader?”

It means being confident in yourself, who you are, and your strengths and weaknesses, and encouraging others to do the same.

Use the tool above to establish and reinforce the standards of responsive, healthy leadership in your team.

That's all for today's message. I hope you enjoyed!

Until next time,

Cheers from London!