SigmaU Blog

An ally will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear! A great friend listens, is empathetic, compassionate, and soothing. This is great under some circumstances like experiencing a loss. If, however, you want to be challenged to grow, you want an ally.

I was going through a difficult period in my life and one of my “big brothers” on my executive board said, you want an ally, not a friend, so I’m going to tell it to you straight. This gave me tremendous perspective. To change and grow, I needed the hard truth.

An ally may show up as a devil’s advocate. I have an amazing right hand person on my leadership team.  She plays the devil’s advocate; she will challenge an idea or present her so-called “crazy idea” that is often genius. Having someone challenge an opportunity or decision, especially if you are a trigger-happy person and they are more measured, like in my colleague’s case, can save a lot of heart and...

As a leader, you’re most likely confident speaking your mind and sharing your vision. You are able to make snap decisions and you feel like your voice is valued and heard. Chances are that many people on your team don’t feel the same way that you do. A part of effective and transformational leadership, I believe, is building up other empowered and confident leaders on your team.

Here are a few ways you can do just that!

1. Have Team Members Lead Meetings

When you create a safe space for team members to take charge and lead a meeting you slowly build their self-confidence muscle. I used to think that as leaders we should set the tone, lead the meeting and wrap up in an efficient way.

During our many Zoom calls during COVID I decided it would be a perfect time to enable each team member to have their turn to lead. We’re a tight knit team and I figured that this was a psychologically safe space for each person to “try it out”. I was astounded by the...