Leaders as Advocates: Building Trust and Followership in your teams

Leadership

Aug 14

5 minute read

I was struck recently by a conversation about the role of the leader. The person I was speaking with was so clear about the transaction that takes place between them and their boss;
‘If I believe they’ll advocate for me and the team, then I’ll follow them anywhere’.

Just think about that for a moment and ask yourself the question,
‘When did I last fight for the team and win that followership from them?’

The answer is you’re probably doing it regularly as part of your everyday interactions with colleagues and peers across the business. But when did you do it consciously and when did you communicate to the team what you’d done and why?

We’d argue that being an advocate is a key role any leader needs to play to be successful.

We’ve heard it described as being the snow plough (clearing the ground for the team to be able to push through) or providing traction (so the wheels stop spinning for the team to make progress). Whatever your preferred analogy, it’s all about enabling your team, so they can get on and get stuff done.

Crucially it's not about you doing it for them. It’s about you understanding their world sufficiently so you represent their challenges across the business. Don’t forget, as an enterprise leader you have connections and capital they are unlikely to have. And that means you – and only you - can have conversations to unlock the real challenges they’re facing.

And here’s the thing. The more you enable them (stop their wheels spinning or clear the snow in front of them), the more they’ll achieve. Which gives you more time to work at an enterprise level. A true win-win.

So, how do you do it?

I’m going to share something an incredible boss gave to me many years ago. I’ve used it consistently since. It opens a level of detail in your interactions with your team that will tell you where you need to advocate for them and how you can support them.

And it’s as simple as this; in your regular, one-on-ones with your team (their most valuable hour in the week), once you’re both done, just close by asking this question:

‘What else?’

And it’s incredible what this simple question will give you. It’s out of the flow of the rest of your conversation. There’s no value judgement. It’s not laden in any way. Just a straightforward question; ‘What else?’ It shows you’re interested in them and demonstrates you’ve got time for them. It shows you want to hear and you’re ready to listen. Give it a try and let us know how you get on.

What you get in response is the gold you need as a leader; where you can help someone, how you can support them to get traction, insight into what’s holding them back – and so much more.

Then it’s your job as leader to be their advocate; to fight for them, enable them, create space for them. That’s your job. So, the team can get on – feeling truly empowered - being their brilliant selves.

Finally, don’t forget to tell them what you’ve done. You can’t work miracles, but you can show you care and demonstrate you want them to win.

Then who knows, they may just follow you anywhere.