I wish I hadn't forgotten these birthdays!

Ahoy,

Today we’re getting really tactical.

We’re going to cover a really simple tip you can implement right away, that will make you a better leader.

This isn’t a mindset point.

Or some long winded strategic approach to leadership.

This is a super simple, super easy to implement, and super effective tactic that will make you a better leader right away!

It’s something that I always knew was important but never really committed to doing it.

But it’s so simple and would have had such an impact, I wish I did this at every role I had in the navy.

Let’s not hang around, lets jump into it.

Write down birthday’s in your calendar.

This one may sound really menial but actually, it can make a huge difference to your ability to lead your team.

Let me explain.

I often talk about leadership capital.

This is the balance you hold when it comes to leading your team. You can order someone to do something only so many times before they just stop doing it. That’s when you run out of leadership capital.

People often have the misconception that in the military, teams just do as the officers tell them…

Anyone in the military of any veterans will have just laughed at that one!

It takes considerably more than a rank to get people to do what you want them to.

The art of leadership is getting people to do what you want them to do, because they want to do it. - This is how you avoid spending leadership capital.

But sometimes things get chaotic and you have no choice but to expend leadership capital. But you don’t want that one off to ruin your reputation as a leader, so you need to make sure you bank as much as you can.

What does this have to do with birthdays?

Well, in leadership 101, if you want to get the most out of your team you need to care.

It’s really basic.

Care about your people, not just their output.

Recognising birthday’s might be the easiest thing you can start doing right now, that shows people you care about them as a person.

But please, for the love of god, do not throw a terrible office party.

The world doesn’t need another party planning committee.

Be personable in your approach.

Do something specific for that person.

This will also make you start paying more attention to the lives of your team outside of work.

• Do they appreciate certain things over others?

• Do they follow a specific sports team?

• Do they have a particular hobby?

By committing to doing something personal for each team member on their birthday, you’re committing to getting to know your team better and building up your leadership capital.

Taking the time for your people shows them that they are important.

All too often organisations say things like

And then they have a round of lay offs and make the rest work on Christmas…

Is that really how you should treat your most important assets?

But by taking the time to get to know them, and by doing something personalised for them on their birthday, it shows them that they are important.

Not just a cog in a wheel.

So what can you do right now.

1. Find out your teams birthday and add it to your calendar.

2. If you don’t know their brithdays, have a round of 1-on-1s. You can ask them there and get to know them more.

3. Walk the floor and speak to the team. Find out 1 interesting fact about each of them.

4. When their birthday’s come round, do something personal to them.

Make time.

The leaders that make time for their people are the leaders that stand out and succeed.

The returns you get from that little time invested compound exponentially.

Hopefully you found this really actionable.

I know that this can seem a bit silly but I promise you, nothing bad will come from you actually implementing this, so give it a go and let me know how it goes!

If you got something out of this newsletter, make sure you share it with a friend. And if you’re that friend you can subscribe here!

Have a great day.

Reece

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