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How to Be a Responsive Leader for Your Team
Learn how to respond to problems rather than react to them.
I can still remember one particular afternoon early in my career when I was interrupted by an unexpected visit from a leader I supported.
“I want her gone today,” he said.
One of his managers had just had an unprofessional outburst directed at her team and her boss had had enough. He stood in the doorway to my office, clearly angry and growing impatient. He wanted her fired, and he wanted it done immediately.
He was reacting. And, like falling dominoes, his reaction set off mine. Having taken on his frustrations with this employee as my own, I made a bee-line for my boss’ office. “So, can we just terminate her?” I implored.
Luckily for me, I worked for a responsive leader at the time.
Unlike reactive leaders, who jump straight into fight-or-flight mode when presented with a problem, responsive leaders take the time to calmly digest the situation at hand before making their next move.
One issue with reactive leadership is that simply reacting to a problem doesn’t leave you room to seek understanding. And you can’t effectively solve a problem that you don’t have a complete understanding of.
