Reflections of the Leadership Orientation

Greetings my fellow MDRT leaders, I would like to take this time to reflect on the presentation by Meridith Elliott Powell presented during our leadership orientation last July. It was entitled Leadership Redefined: Ownership, Engagement, Results, and Listening. Have you applied these strategies to your work with MDRT and your organization? Building an engaged team is the path to growth and the path to success in an uncertain marketplace.

During her presentation, she shared that to really engage people, you need to understand what they are looking for. And uncertainty changes everything. It makes people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to do work that matters, and they want to feel like they are making a difference.

Strategy number one is purpose. As a leader, you need to help people understand the purpose of MDRT. Understand that they are part of really doing something significant and that they are making a difference, that they belong and that they are contributing. And then you need to remind them day in and day out about that purpose.

Strategy number two is ownership. You need to be a transformational leader and to understand that your job is to inspire people to get the job done. One way to do this is to simply lead through the power of the question. What your committee or organization needs to accomplish, that belongs to you. But how? That belongs to the team. Because when you ask them how, you give them voice and responsibility.

And that leads us into strategy number three, which is performance. Once people are drawn to the purpose, once they feel a part of your organization, they want to contribute at the individual level and they are looking for you to help them do that.

Invest in your team before you ask them to invest in you. Give them support by providing the tools, resources, and information they need and hold them accountable. Remind them when they do a job well, but appropriately address them when they're falling behind or not doing what they need to do.

So, to summarize, begin with purpose. Invite your team in through ownership. Ensure they can contribute on an individual level with performance. You put all those strategies into place, you are going to take MDRT and your organization to the next level. And you're going to turn all of this uncertainty into your competitive advantage.