When I coach leaders, there are often “ah-ha” moments around learning what is expected of a leader and what they are empowered to do. Here are 6 responsibilities of a leader that might surprise you.
Employee engagement and productivity is the responsibility of leaders, not HR. These tie directly into business initiatives.
How you manage your schedule, meetings, and your time is your responsibility. You should be proactive about these, not reactive. You also have the power to set boundaries and pushback and delegate where necessary. Many leaders, especially newer ones think they have to follow along and try to appease everyone. Additionally, how you manage your time is setting an example for those below you. An organization I was coaching for told me that a senior leader expressed that he was waiting for HR to fix the organization’s large issue with holding ineffective meetings. I was stunned! This is the leader’s responsibility – full stop.
Performance management and accountability is the responsibility of the leader, not HR. When you choose to look the other way, you are hurting the organization.
Growth and development of others is the responsibility of the leader. Yes, you should encourage others to take charge of their own growth and development, but it’s also your role as a leader to guide others, encourage them, and support them in their growth and development and to make this a topic of conversation outside of daily tasks.
How many hours your direct reports are putting in is the leader’s responsibility. Are you okay with your employees putting in 50-80 hour weeks? What’s wrong with that picture? Is it too much workload? Ineffective organization or time management? People pleasing? It’s the responsibility of the leader to ensure they are trained effectively, know how to set boundaries, know how to delegate, etc. When I see people working that amount of hours on a consistent basis, I question the leader; it certainly reflects poorly on the leader.
It is the leader’s responsibility to challenge the status quo. If you question why something is done a certain way and your leader says, “It’s always been done that way.” then this is not the sign of a highly effective leader. This signals a complacent leader, a leader who is afraid of change, or a leader who doesn’t want to step up and rock the boat.
How many of these responsibilities do you regularly perform? Which ones make you feel uncomfortable?
