High-performing teams often have a unique interpersonal dynamic that incorporates accountability at all levels. Not only are team members held accountable for their results by the leader, but they are expected to hold one another accountable. Team members hold team members accountable. The leader is a member of the team. Members must hold the leader equally accountable for their actions and results. The right types of members have high personal levels of accountability for their work. They already feel worse than anyone can make them when their actions lapse and are not up in accordance with the goals and the values of the organization. I remember reading a book called Good to Great in that the author wrote about getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off of the bus. The collective effort of the right people will ensure success, but it might not be in the direction that the leader had envisioned. It is best to gather the right people and allow their collective synergy drives the bus where it wills. At any point if a member becomes counter-productive to the organizational goals and values and is un-salvageable, then it is incumbent upon the leader to determine if they are no longer the right person to be on the virtual bus.
Not all members on a team contribute equally. This could be related to their work or their contribution to reaffirming and upholding organizational goals and values. As leaders the burden starts with us. There is no substitute for role modeling. Successfully socializing team members across a virtual world does not happen by chance or through the sheer willpower of the leader. Leaders will inspire and change behavior in direct proportion to how they demonstrate the organizational goals and values. And so, I ask you what is leadership? What makes a great leader? Often the “leaders” we see on TV or in the media today are figureheads that do what’s popular, but not what’s right.
Leadership is the ability to create immediate impact and compel lasting, positive change in others. It’s understanding what motivates people and how to harness the power of influence in yourself and others to achieve a greater vision for mankind at every level.
Ultimately, a leader is a master of their own psychology or Personal Ownership. Because the first person you need to influence is you. Leaders master the art of influence within themselves and with others so that they can act as a force for good and serve something that’s larger than themselves – creating permanent and lasting change around them.