The 4 Roles Every Leader Must Be Able to Play

 

1. The Analyzer: Leaders must know data and be confident enough to logically, rationally bring ideas to the table. In the role of the Analyzer, leaders must be able to play the skeptic and have a critical, strategic eye toward the future. Decisions need to be built from data and supported by bottom-line metrics. You need all of this rigor as a leader because when you're communicating massive changes or a new direction to your team, you better have the facts to back it up. The analytical brains in your company will ask the critical questions--as the Analyzer, you can match their inquiry with logic and provide the Why.

2. The Structuralizer: Leaders need to be straightforward and concise in order to put a plan in place that is clear and makes sense. In the role of Structuralizer, your job as a leader is to provide the framework and the process to take the company (or depending on the circumstances, your team or department) where it needs to go. The biggest complaint against leaders is lack of clear direction (only 14% of employees say they understand their company's strategy and direction!). Employees need to know that the leader has thought about what it is going to take to bring something through to fruition. You don't need to literally create every step along the way, but in the Structuralizer role you provide the guidelines to help your employees feel prepared.

3. The Socializer: Leaders have to ultimately connect and engage with their teams. Even the most quiet, introspective leaders have an ability to relate deeply with their people (well, good leaders have that ability...there's countless leaders who definitely do not). When you play the role of the Socializer, you're creating an atmosphere of mutual accountability and collaboration. In this role, the most important thing a leader can do is to be empathic. That starts with curiosity--ask your employees how they're feeling. Find out where changes need to happen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Your employees need to feel engaged with leadership and their colleagues, and as a Socializer, you set that tone. The Socializer understands Who is needed for success.

4. The Conceptualizer: This is the most traditional view of leadership, but in many ways the most difficult--it's about seeing where you need to go, setting the vision, and rallying the company around the future. Employees expect this kind of thinking from leaders, but it doesn't come naturally to many of us. The Conceptualizer's role is to ensure that people can step out of the day-to-day and understand that their work is critical and important to achieving the overall goal. Its playing the Steve Jobs role...where an iPhone isn't simply a telephone or a new product line, but an experiential tool that will alter the way the world gets information and communicates. In the role of Conceptualizer, leaders need to create a place of openness so that employees feel connected to the vision and able to bring their own ideas.

SOURCE:inc.com