If you have any kind of ulterior motives, like you just want to get noticed, you want to get attention, you want to get promoted, you want to make more money, you want to outshine your leader, he or she's going to sniff that out and take you out.
You got to come with a real sincere attitude and your motives must be to genuinely help them, serve them, move the mission forward.You want to serve your leader and help the organization get better.
Hey, welcome to another episode of the Craig Rochelle Leadership Podcast.I am very passionate about helping you grow in your leadership.And so what I wanna do is I wanna talk about whatever you wanna talk about.
We're doing a multiple weekly series, answering your questions.Normally we do an episode on the first Thursday of each month.We're dropping them one a week.So get ready to go on a journey with me.
Before we tackle the questions, I want to tell you that we do have a leader guide that I want you to get.If you're not getting the leader guide, you need to get the leader guide.
Go to life.church slash leadership podcast, and we're going to give you additional content, sometimes questions to go over with your team.And I'm going to work really, really hard to give you helpful content, to help you grow in your leadership.
Your time is valuable.So I'm gonna tell you, we're not gonna bring any paid ads.This is gonna be packed with practical ideas.My goal is to give you the highest value per minute of any podcast you listen to.So with that, let's go.
We're gonna answer two questions today, and they're both about leading up.So I'm gonna give you a resource that you may wanna look at.If you'd like to get a free copy of this book, the book is How to Lead When You're Not in Charge by Clay Scroggins.
Comment on the YouTube page, say, I want to lead up.We'll give away five copies of his book.The questions today are all about leading up.If you want the chance to win a copy of Clay's book, How to Lead When You're Not in Charge,
type of the comment section I want to lead up.Two questions on that subject today.First, Rebecca asks, how do you get a strong leader to listen to you?So you got a boss and she's strong or he's strong.
How do you lead up and get a boss to listen to you?Or Michael asks this, how do you lead up well?How do you lead when you're not in charge?This is a very, very common question.We got dozens of variations of the question.
Essentially, how do you lead up? And first, let's start with the big picture.To lead up well, to influence a strong leader, you need, what I say, three things.You need a very genuine, thoughtful, yet nuanced approach.
You wanna be genuine, you wanna be thoughtful in how you do it, and yet you wanna be really careful and have kind of a nuanced approach to lead up.Well, let's start with genuine.If you're gonna lead up and influence your boss, your direct report,
You genuinely need to care about that person.You have to care about them.
If you have any kind of ulterior motives, like you just want to get noticed, you want to get attention, you want to get promoted, you want to make more money, you want to outshine your leader, he or she's going to sniff that out and take you out.
You got to come with a real sincere attitude and your motives must be to genuinely help them, serve them, move the mission forward.You want to serve your leader and help the organization get better.
Then you want to be thoughtful and nuanced in your approach.If you come in too hot, you'll be the one to get burned. You wanna play the long game.You wanna take your time.You wanna be prayerful, strategic, thoughtful, caring.
If you do that, you can make a big difference.And so I'll give you five big ideas to think about.I'll cover them, all five, and then we'll talk about them one by one.
The first thing you wanna do is if you wanna lead up well, you wanna create a climate of unmistakable trust. Number two, you want to add value without adding pressure.
Number three, you want to learn to sincerely empathize with your leader's challenges.Number four, don't just point out problems, offer solutions.And number five, you want to communicate clearly, concisely, and strategically.
Let's talk about them one by one.Number one, you want to lead up well.You're going to want to cultivate a climate of unmistakable trust. And I'll state something that's pretty obvious, but I wanna say it anyway, and that's this.
Your leader won't listen to you if he or she doesn't trust you.They are not gonna listen if they don't know and believe that you have their best interest at heart.And so when you're gonna approach a leader, I want you to think about this.
Have you ever been hurt or burned by someone?Of course you have, right?Someone betrayed you, talked behind your back, didn't have your best interest in mind.I want you to think about your boss because your boss has been hurt as well.
And so when you show up, you want to lead in such a way that you're actually building trust. How fast can you build trust?And the answer is, I'm not sure.You do not want to rush it.If you come in too strong, too fast, most people tend to push back.
So how do you build trust?The basics.Trust is built with consistency over time. Trust is built with consistency over time.So you're just gonna start with the basics.You're gonna do your job well.You're gonna do it with excellence.
You're gonna show up with passion.You're gonna have intentionality.You're gonna bring your best every single day.And as often as possible, you don't wanna just meet expectations.You want to exceed expectations.
So you're not just gonna do what they ask you, but you're gonna do a little bit more.And what you're doing is you're demonstrating that you're reliable. You're a valuable team player.You care about the mission.You have integrity.
You've got a real work ethic.You're building trust.You're building trust.So the first thing, with a heart to serve, with just good performance and a total buy-in to the mission, you're creating a climate of unmistakable trust.
The second thing you want to do is you want to add value. without adding pressure.Add value without adding pressure.Like, what do you mean, Craig?
Okay, if you wanna lead up, you wanna ask yourself, how can I add value to my leader without adding work to their plate?How can I add value to them without giving them something more to do?
And honestly, this is a very common problem we see in overly enthusiastic leaders.Like, I wanna lead up, you know, whatever.It's like, hey boss, hey boss, hey boss, hey, how can I help you?
Give me three things I can do to make your life easier, okay?You didn't take anything off their plate at that point.What you did is you gave them an assignment.You came in and said, give me three things to do.
And then I'd have to stop and go, okay, let me think for a little while.And you do that with a good heart, but honestly, it's not helpful.And that's a very common approach.And I wanna beg you, don't approach that way.
What you wanna do is you wanna kind of ask yourself, How can I add value?Where can I add value?What can I do?And so how are you going to discern where you can add value?You're going to watch and listen, watch and listen, watch and listen.
You're going to watch for anything that frustrates your leader, anything that's weighing them down. You're gonna listen to anything that you could look at and think, well, I think I could do that for them, or I could take that off of them.
And you're gonna watch and listen, you're gonna watch and listen.You're gonna look for anything that you could take off of them to ease their load.And here's a little secret I want you to know about leaders, even the great ones.
And I would say maybe even especially the great ones.And I want you to hear this.Many leaders struggle with asking others for help. Literally, like you want to help them, but they don't want to put something more on you.
And they don't want to burden you.They don't want to appear weak.And it's an insecurity, but all of us have it.Many of us struggle with asking for help.So what do you do?Well, if you see a need that you can meet, don't wait for them to ask you.
Just say, hey, would you mind if I did that for you? That's a good way to ask it.Would you mind if I did that for you?Not, let me take it.That's a command.Would you mind if I did that for you?And they may say, no, no, no, really, I've got it.
And oftentimes that's how they're gonna come back.What you wanna do is you wanna just show appropriately, not weird person, but appropriately that you're really eager to help. Adrian on my team does this with me.
She'll say, hey, you mind if I take that off of you?Like, ah, no, I got this.She's like, hey, I'm kind of weird this way, but I love that kind of thing.It would mean a lot to me if I could do it for you.Like, oh, she loves that kind of thing.
And so she like literally will talk me into trusting her with it.And she's convincing me that she's genuinely happy to do it.And so you wanna do something like that.
Now, if you can take something off your leader, that's a great place to start, but don't stop there.
Once you've done it, whatever it is, the project, you made the call, you handle it, you got the files organized, whatever it is, what I want you to do is I want you to let them know that you did it.
At least do it all the time at first, because what you're gonna do is it's actually still on their mind, even though it's in your hands, it's still on their mind.And so you're doing what I call wrap-back communication.
You've done it, now I'm wrapping back, I'm coming back, I'm wrapping back.The difference between a pretty good leader you can trust and a great leader you can trust is often just wrap back communication.
It's just, hey, you can check this off your list, it's handled.And you don't have to be annoying.You don't have to burst into their office going, I got it done.Aren't I great?You don't have to do that.
And oftentimes it's just a text or an email or a note on the desk.You're not interrupting their flow.You're just saying, hey, check this off your list, got it done.And it eases their mind.
Once you've built trust, and you've done that for a while, three months later, six months later, whatever, you may taper off communication because they know when they give it to you it's done, but early on, they don't know.
So when you do it, tell them it's done.And when you commit to something, oh my goodness, Deliver.Don't ever say I got this and don't have it.Deliver.And again, as often as you can not just deliver, but do even more, that's even better.
So, if you want to effectively lead up, be a leader your boss can trust every single time.Now, Let's say you do three things for your boss and she doesn't say thank you.Don't get your feelings hurt.She's probably got something else on her mind.
She's focused somewhere else.Just remember this.You're not serving to get noticed.You're serving because you care.Keep your heart pure.If you serve consistently with the right motives, you will earn influence over time.You're just serving.
So what are we gonna do?You wanna lead up. First of all, you're gonna create a climate of unmistakable trust.You are dependable, you're trustworthy, you care, you show up, you have integrity, you get things done.
Number two is you're gonna add value without adding pressure.You're not coming and saying, give me five things I can do.No, hey, do you mind if I take that off of you?Number three is this, number three, important.
You're gonna learn to sincerely empathize with their challenges. You're gonna learn to, as best you can, to feel what they feel and understand what weighs on them.And this is not easy, and I wanna promise you.
Years ago, my pastor used to say, Craig, you'll never, well, he said, Craiger, he called me, Craiger, you'll never understand the weight I'm under until you're under it yourself.
Craiger, you're never gonna understand the burden of this job until you have it yourself.I hated when he said that, and it was so true. I had no idea all of the pressure that he felt until I was in a similar role.
So you want to learn to empathize with what they feel.And this is going to be a little bit tricky.And I want to say it this way, you want to try to understand.Don't ever assume you do.Because the moment you assume you do, you don't.
I promise you, you wanna try, you wanna work hard, you wanna get as close as you can to understanding, but never assume you're completely there because you don't fully understand.So what are you gonna do?
Again, you're gonna watch and you're gonna listen, and this is really important, like don't judge. Like sometimes your boss is gonna be overreacting over something that's not that big of a deal.You're like, oh, he's just overreacting.
Listen, one day when you're in his shoes, you're gonna do the same thing over something else.So you're not gonna judge your boss as human just like you.Your goal is not to judge, not to condemn, not to criticize.
Your goal is to encourage, to support, and to assist.You're asking yourself, okay, what's keeping him up at night?What pressure does she feel? And when you start to empathize, what it does is it will change your approach.
So important, it'll change how you approach your supervisor.When you start to truly feel some of what they feel, you'll serve with a heart of compassion rather than an attitude of arrogance.It's a game changer.
The reality is for all of us, when I was under somebody, I'd always think, well, I could probably do that thing a little better than them.If I were in their roles, I'd do this a little different. That's natural.
But instead, if we come in and say, their job's probably pretty hard.There's some details about it that I don't know.There's some weight they're carrying that I wouldn't fully understand.
So all I wanna do is add value, take something off, serve them, help our organization get better.
If you come in with that attitude and you start to feel what they're going through, they're actually gonna know you genuinely care, and then you can really, really make a difference.Number four, important.
Don't just point out problems, offer solutions.Don't just point out problems.Again, this sounds obvious, but we wanna lead up.And so what do we think?Well, I'm gonna lead up because my dumb boss doesn't see what I see.That's a bad attitude, okay?
I'm gonna tell them what's wrong with our organization.This is our problem, okay?True, but... So much of what many people think is leading up is really just complaining up.That's all it is.
It's not really leading up, it's like just griping and complaining up.
And so whenever you see something that you know, hey, this isn't great and this needs to change, or we could really get better here or we could be different here, try not to just point out the problem without having a potential solution.
Before you say this is wrong, as often as possible say, I wonder what we could do to make this right.Why is this so important?Any leader can point out a problem, but a great leader brings a solution.
And honestly, it's frustrating to me when some team member comes in and says, this is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong.I always feel like saying,
Well, I knew that, I didn't know that, I didn't know that, I knew that, and here's 15 more problems I'm trying to solve, and all you're doing is pointing out problems.It is exhilarating to me.
I'm thrilled, I'm thankful beyond measure when someone takes initiative and says, hey, I saw this thing not working well, but I think here's how we can fix what's broken.
Or they say, hey, I saw something that's pretty good, let's take something good and make it great. It's a totally different posture when you're not complaining up, but you're leading up.
You're coming in, not just saying, this is wrong, and this is a problem, but I've been thinking about it, been working on it for a while, and here's how I think we can make it better.Number five, communicate clearly, concisely, and strategically.
Okay, you work for somebody, they're your supervisor, they're your boss.You know they're busy, time's important to them.I cannot overstate how important this is.You've got an audience with them. Communicate clearly.
Clarity is kindness and timing is everything.Remember, you're going to approach your boss.Clarity is kindness and timing is everything.One more time.Clarity is kindness and timing is everything.You want to be really, really clear.
You want to have thought through what you're going to say, and you want to be really respectful as to when you approach. What you're gonna know if you're observant is your leader has rhythms, and some times are better to approach them.
Some days are better than other days.In my world, Mondays, I'm kind of recovering from the weekend.I'm planning out the week.I'm starting on the message.Tuesday's a study day.
If someone comes and brings me a suggestion on a Tuesday, it's not that I don't wanna hear it, it's like I can't hear it.My mind is locked, I am not ready to hear it.Wednesday by noon, the message is done.
I kinda come out of hibernation and be in lockdown study.I can hear on a Wednesday afternoon.Thursday, I'm in creative mode, I'm doing meetings, I'm planning on the future.Thursday's a great day.And so you kinda wanna know the rhythms.
Like honest to goodness, one time I was going in the men's room and a guy came in and said, Pastor, Pastor, got an idea for you.Pastor, that's not the best time, okay?Clarity is kindness.Timing is everything.Learn their rhythms.
Communicate clearly, concisely, strategically.Be kind, be trustworthy, care about your leader.And guess what?Guess what? you can help your leader get better.
It's indescribable what a gift it is to have a leader with people that work for the leader, serve with the leader, serve by the leader, that will tell the leader the truth, will make suggestions, will help make things better.
If you start to do that, you do it well, together you can do something really, really special. If you want more insight on this subject, I have a whole episode devoted to leading up, episode 81 on the podcast.
It's called Leading Up When You're Not In Charge.There's also the book that Clay wrote as well.And I wanna just tell you this for a minute, speak to you from my heart.I want you to remember, that you can lead from where you are.
You don't have to be the boss.You don't have to have a title.You don't need to have the office or whatever, the degree.You can lead from where you are.Why?Because what is leadership?Leadership is influence, and you have influence.
You don't need a title to lead, you just need to care.
And when you really care about your boss, your supervisor, your peers, those people that report to you, when you really care about them and you show it, that you love your team, that you believe in them, it builds a trust and a chemistry that is really hard to describe.
I've often said it this way, people'd rather follow a leader with a heart than a leader with a title.People would rather follow a leader who's always real than one who's always right.So believe in what you have in you.It's special.
You're where you are for a purpose.You're not there by accident, and you do have more to offer.If you take it slow, take your time, lead with integrity, have a real sincere heart, and serve, serve people.
And when you're the boss of everybody, serve people.Serve, serve, serve, because the greatest are those who serve. And when you serve others, and they serve you, and you serve people together, you all get better.And what happens when you get better?
Well, everyone wins when the leader gets better.I will see you next Thursday, same time, for more Questions Get the Leader Guide.Share on social media, please.And if you'd like a chance to win the book, type in there.I wanna lead up.
And in the meantime, Believe it when you hear it.There is more in you.You are getting better.Go out and make a difference.
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