What is Your Priority as a Leader?

Simon Sinek said, "Leadership requires two things: a vision of the world that does not yet exist and the ability to communicate it."

So, what is your priority as a leader?

The responses differ on a wide range of things like

1. Achieve a business outcome by a certain date

2. Maximize profitability

3. Optimize your costs

4. Have a long-term strategy

5. Create a strong brand for the business

6. Build a strong team

Number #6 is the answer that I hear the least often. Because most times, it is not a priority in itself, but a means to an end to achieve other business priorities.

Yet, challenges in building a team are the single most common setback for a new leader. Despite their significant experience, 75% of new leaders make mistakes when building such a team.

The challenge of finding people with the right experience, expertise, and motivation aligned with the strategy and goals is major. However, building a team is also difficult because team dynamics are unpredictable; a team's inner life depends on many factors. Members' life histories, their relationships, their level of trust, how they approach/avoid conflict, individual fears, change approaches, and their relationship with authority are factors to consider.

Relationships are at the heart of any team's dynamics. Trust is the foundation of those relationships and most other things in life. Relationships and teams flourish when trust exists. Priorities get accomplished, disagreements are dealt with directly and constructively, and each person feels valued and appreciated for his or her contribution.

So, building a team is not just a means to an end; it’s the end in itself. When things get difficult, trust and the team may be the only reason people show up committed to moving forward together.