Page 36 - Fearless Leadership

What It Means to Be a Fearless Leader 23

A pivotal difference between high performance teams and business-as-
usual groups is that high performance teams identify, confront, and over-
come blind spots. By having a method for talking about blind spots and
building committed partnerships, these teams quickly resolve issues and
keep the team performing at an optimal level.
Here is what characterizes high performance teams:

• Team members openly coach each other on blind spots and
quickly correct unproductive behavior and resolve issues.
• Each member takes personal accountability for his or her
impact on others.
• Team members collaborate with all other members to achieve
strategic business objectives.
• Each member checks his or her ego at the door and sets aside
personal agendas to achieve a greater mission—that of enter-
prise success.
• Each member commits to the success of all others and elimi-
nates blame and silos.
• Team members hold each other accountable for high standards
of behavior.

Do you take a stand and act decisively even when it is uncomfortable?
If not, I want you to know that you can learn how to achieve this and
increase your leadership effectiveness. Taking a stand requires you to go
against the common advice of “blend in, don’t stand out, and let others
put themselves on the line.”
Fearless leaders have the courage to take a stand even when there is no
agreement or support from others. One stand you must take in leading oth-
ers is to define uniform behavioral standards and teach people how to work
together in committed partnerships. You will learn more about this in
detail in Chapter 5.
Fearless leaders instill passion by building committed partnerships with
employees, customers, communities, and other key stakeholders. The atti-
tude of the entire organization shifts as a positive and constructive envi-
ronment is created. People make the personal choice to be fearless leaders
not because they have to but because they want to. They are exhilarated
when they discover they have the power to influence and shape the future.