I recently watched Simon Sinek’s talk, Nobody Wins. Simon proposes that there are two things great leaders need, empathy and perspective. As an employee, we are responsible for doing the job. As a leader, we are responsible for the people who are responsible for doing the job. It’s hard to make the transition from being in charge to being responsible for taking care of those in your charge.

Take a moment and consider this perspective. You’re not in charge, you’re responsible for taking care of the people in your charge. What, if anything, changes for you when you consider the later? How would you approach performance conversations? How would you recognize or coach your staff differently?

I encourage you to watch Simon Sinek’s talk, Nobody Wins. Please share your examples of when you’ve used the perspective of “being responsible for those in your charge” versus “being in charge”. Your comments and feedback are appreciated and valued.