The Marvel Universe has brought superhuman heroes back into the focus of our society for the past 15 years. Marvel has released a steady stream of hero films to satisfy almost every taste. Female, male, child, aliens, wizards, robots, black, white, and green are all portrayed as self-less leaders defending those that can't defend themselves. If you can't find a hero in the Marvel Universe that resonates with you, you are intentionally trying not to be entertained. In many of those films there is a scene in which the hero jumps between the defenseless and an imminent attack. In fact one hero's marquee tool, is designed exactly for deflecting - Captain America's shield. Made of some unknown metal from a distant planet it is the ultimate deflector. In some ways, real life leaders should aspire to be more like Captain American's shield than Captain American himself. Great leaders that inspire people are great at deflecting. Not the kind of deflecting that refuses to answer questions but the kind of the deflecting that makes sure praise, focus, and attention goes to the people around the leader. Scott Eblin, in his book 'The Next Level', states, 'the work no longer speaks for itself'. The society we live in is noisy, over-saturated with information and distracted. Leaders have an incredible opportunity to deflect the spotlight that they automatically receive to their people and speak on behalf of their work. Here are four suggestions on how to be the newest superhero, Deflector, for your people:
Praise your performers - every leader has someone around them that is incredibly gifted. They shine bright because they produce great work. A Deflector leader does not take this for granted because great performers keep their production at a very high level when they know it's appreciated. Deflector leaders praise their performers.
Praise your 'heart and soul' people - on each team, there are people that are the 'heart and soul' of your culture. They do their job consistently well, they help pick up the slack for others, they roll up their sleeves and get dirty. And they do all of these things with a humble spirit. Great leaders need to put on their cape and become Deflector for their heart and soul people. Consistent praise for 'heart and soul' people nurtures your culture.
Praise your people from your platform - leaders get to stand on a unique platform that garners the attention of a lot of people. Leaders should use these platforms to direct praise to their people. When the spotlight shines the brightest on a great leader, they break out their superhero shield and deflect the praise to their people from their platform.
Praise your people by name and task - not only do leaders use their unique platform to praise their people, but they become very skilled at doing so. When they praise their people, they use their names and they identify what was done that was praiseworthy. A leader that attempts to deflect praise to their people by saying, 'my team did a great job.' is unskilled at being a deflector. Deflector leaders make statements like, 'Sue did an incredible job pulling all of the pieces of that presentation together and under a very tight deadline.'
Before you head off to work tomorrow make you sure you grab your cell phone, keys, and shield so you can deflect praise to your people and be the superhero they actually will thrive under.
Praise your performers - every leader has someone around them that is incredibly gifted. They shine bright because they produce great work. A Deflector leader does not take this for granted because great performers keep their production at a very high level when they know it's appreciated. Deflector leaders praise their performers.
Praise your 'heart and soul' people - on each team, there are people that are the 'heart and soul' of your culture. They do their job consistently well, they help pick up the slack for others, they roll up their sleeves and get dirty. And they do all of these things with a humble spirit. Great leaders need to put on their cape and become Deflector for their heart and soul people. Consistent praise for 'heart and soul' people nurtures your culture.
Praise your people from your platform - leaders get to stand on a unique platform that garners the attention of a lot of people. Leaders should use these platforms to direct praise to their people. When the spotlight shines the brightest on a great leader, they break out their superhero shield and deflect the praise to their people from their platform.
Praise your people by name and task - not only do leaders use their unique platform to praise their people, but they become very skilled at doing so. When they praise their people, they use their names and they identify what was done that was praiseworthy. A leader that attempts to deflect praise to their people by saying, 'my team did a great job.' is unskilled at being a deflector. Deflector leaders make statements like, 'Sue did an incredible job pulling all of the pieces of that presentation together and under a very tight deadline.'
Before you head off to work tomorrow make you sure you grab your cell phone, keys, and shield so you can deflect praise to your people and be the superhero they actually will thrive under.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader with more than two decades of experience. He’s earned a few degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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