Why Understanding Your Identity is the First Step to Leading Your Team

Sir Alex Ferguson had served 26 seasons as the coach for Manchester United before retiring in May 2013. When he commenced with the club in 1986 he had a focus to build an entire club from the ground up. Taking over coaching the existing team, Sir Alex also took over managing the development of the club and started a talented squad.

His focus was not purely on improving the existing team but creating a fluent and continuous supply of players to Manchester United’s first team. Surprised that the youngest player in the team was 24 years old, Ferguson had a strong conviction that restructuring the youth of the team was essential. He had unwavering confidence he could develop and implement this strategy to lead the club to success. He engaged scouts to help him seek fresh talent and developing a constant funnel of groomed, up-and-coming players became a new, permanent foundation.

David Beckham was one of Ferguson’s most well-known young recruits. However, the best was Ryan Giggs whom he recruited at the age of 13 in 1986. Giggs went on to become one of the most decorated British footballers of all time.

Sir Alex knew he was a strong growth-mindset strategist. He knew he could not select a brilliant team and recruit talent on his own so he hired experts to help him. His actions showed his conviction to succeed and his follow-through has led Manchester United to be indisputably one of the world’s most notorious and successful football clubs in the world.

Only from knowing your strengths, limitations, values and ethics can you have clarity about whether or not opportunities are a right fit for you to accept. Not just for your own potential to achieve success but also the potential of your team.

Successful teams require less coaching for technical skills and knowledge. Individuals often already know how to do what is required in their roles but still need guidance and support to learn how to reach and push for pinnacle-level achievements. Often they are looking for their leader at the helm to be someone they confide in, trust, and be truthful and honest with.

Growth and breakthroughs often come after pain and discomfort so there needs to be a stronger reason as to why your team will choose to stretch themselves and sacrifice time away from their families. If your team sees an inconsistency in your decisions based on your values, hypocrisy or any behavior which belittles devalues, or degrades them or another member of the team don’t expect them to bend over backward to support and help you. As high performers, their emotional intelligence radars will pick up on the subtlest damaging cues.

On the other hand, your team will also be able to see clearly when you have made honest mistakes and will be more inspired to follow you through the trenches because….you’re human and so are they. When you share some of your thoughts and the reasons behind your decisions and the risks you take, you are investing in and demonstrating trust and faith in your team. They feel valued, worthy and respected. If you have supported them and forgiven them for making mistakes, experiencing failures and recovering from those, they will likely do the same for you. Your being their leader does not reduce their ability to choose to be loyal. Choose to be loyal to your team and they will choose to be loyal to you.

The old adage of ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ only goes so far in high-performance teams, businesses and organizations. Like it or not, when you become a leader of a high-performing team you are under much heavier scrutiny. Team members have more than enough emotional intelligence to see through unsuccessful attempts by their managers to portray confidence and instill belief in their cause. This lack of genuine engagement has been documented in many of Gallup’s research studies as a key reason people leave their jobs.

Your team members are also on a strong personal mission of their own when they have committed to being a member of your team. More often than not, long-term relationships that stand the test of time are often formed in times of adversity. The admittance and sharing vulnerabilities naturally draw people together to try and support each other. Bonds are created which turn clients into loyal followers and even friends. Work colleagues become great supports to each other in their personal lives and even follow each other when one departs one business to join another.

Genuine and appropriate communication of your own vulnerabilities and limitations on some level can allow your team to develop a new and different respect for you. Clearing away false hope and no longer pretending to know all the answers allows your team to respect you on many more levels than just being their boss or manager. When your challenges become insurmountable outside of the workplace, don’t be surprised if your employed team volunteers their aid to you in personal crises without invitation. Then you’ll know you’ve created something even more powerful than a high-performing work team.