Leadership=Trust

“When we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders.” Simon Sinek

How can I become a better leader?

I’ve only worked for one set of owners since I began my professional career post-graduation. I know that my biggest moments of growth have occurred when I felt trusted. Initially, I needed constant hand-holding until I built up enough confidence to get angry when I began feeling isolated. I remember calling for a meeting with Paul Todesca, General Manager of Arrow Sports Group and exclaiming my anger. I said something along the lines of, “I feel like I’m not getting any help! I need your help!” He looked me dead in the eye and said, “I trust you; you can do this.”

That moment was transformative for me. I felt like I turned from “worker” to a rising face in the organization. I felt honoured that Paul Todesca thought that highly of me that he felt I could go out and drive the business to the best of my ability.

If organizations do their jobs properly there will come a time when a job stops being a place where you punch in and out of. You go in with a purpose each day, enjoy those you work with and leave with a sense of fulfilment. You feel like you’re building something of importance—that the work you’re doing matters.

At ISPO this year it dawned on me how much we’ve grown as a firm. We have talent throughout our organization that continues to blossom and thrive. I know I can help accelerate this further if I’m able to stop trying to control everything and employ further trust in those around me. I’m grateful to have so much help around me and will work hard in 2019 to continue to help our squad learn, grow and develop. We’ve invested in some leadership training for the talent on the manufacturing side of the business. On the sales and marketing side I need to remain conscious that their learning process will require me to step back and encourage them to push forward; that they’re ready—that I trust them and that they will be successful.

I’ve always said that I know I’ll have been successful in my job if I’m able to walk away from HD Sports with a plethora of people that are able to slide into my roll and allow the business to carry on without a hiccup. The greatest companies in the world make leadership a top priority for this very reason.

Leaders build leaders.

2019: Trust the worker to build leaders.