Today is Memorial Day in the US when we honor those who gave their lives in defense of our country. In today's Monday Morning Message, we continue the series on leadership by discussing the importance of taking steps to improve your team. This is critical. The entire purpose of "leadership" is to lead.......your team.

Now that you have 1) clearly defined your vision, 2) activated your group of peers and 3) looked analytically at your metrics and other facts, you are ready to start leading your team. It should go without saying that engaging in a leadership program before the other steps is not advisable.

Team leadership is a big topic and with millions of books, lectures and strategies dedicated to the topic. As the leader, your responsibility is to learn about this concept and never stop learning. While Leadership OD offers numerous programs and tools to enhance your leadership knowledge and skill, there are many others. Some will fit your style, others will not.

In leadership of an eye care team, there are two separate components:
Communication: Be strategic about staying in touch with your team. The best solution is to incorporate some type of "rhythm" so it always happens and becomes an expected part of the team culture. Daily "huddles" are growing in popularity due to their effectiveness in uniting a team around a common mission. If you won't commit to making daily huddles work, then commit to an alternative that keeps you connected.

Development: Put simply, the leader must always be working to make the team better, each member of the team must continuously grow. This is done by implementing leadership training programs which can be as simple as group discussions about a popular leadership book. It may include special coaching sessions or attendance to educational classes.

As a leader, this is your most important job, don't stop.

Happy Memorial Day,
Mike

p.s. Next week, we will open voting for the Leadership OD "Song of Summer" - be thinking about it.