Good Leaders Can Answer “Yes” to Three Questions

Poet Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Writing in Inc., Marcel Schwantes, founder and Chief Human Officer of Leadership From the Core, notes that this is very true of leaders. The great ones, he says, take care of their team in ways that makes everyone feel inspired and understood.

"The journey toward leadership greatness never ends,” says Schwantes, “but it does have a starting point. And sometimes the beginning of the journey requires some tough questions you need to ask yourself to raise your own bar." Can you answer yes to most — and hopefully all — of these?

• Are you approachable? Approachable leaders share information and have a genuine open door. They show their human side, exhibit humor, and advocate for their teammates.
• Do you foster an environment where people feel psychologically safe? Harvard research shows that when encouraging leaders let employees know they are free to speak up, experiment, give feedback, and ask for help -- it leads to better learning and performance outcomes.
• Do you lead with integrity? Are you reliable and truthful, holding yourself to a high standard others want to emulate? Are you true to yourself, and do you follow through with your promises?

Were you able to answer “yes” to most of these questions? Which ones might you work on? To join the conversation, click "comments" above, just below the picture.  We'd love to hear your feedback!

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