Transforming Leadership: Developing Leader's Eyes to Identify and Solve Problems

Hi , this is Stephen McLea of the Finance Leader Podcast . This is bonus episode number 80 . Good day and good week to everyone . I hope you are all doing well and I am here to talk leadership once again . We are leaders , no matter your title or role , and leadership does not take a break and does not falter . Leaders lead in the tough times , not just the good times . It's the tough times when leadership is required most . Your team is looking for you to make a difference , to have answers , to give direction when no direction seems apparent , or even possible , to provide hope and determination when faced with difficult moments .

This week I want to share a tool I was taught when serving in the United States Army . It's called having leader's eyes . When we have leader's eyes , we become proactive in solving problems before they become bigger . We look for ways to improve our team , we review our processes , we coach our team members to become better and we don't take our leadership responsibilities lightly . I'll share an example from the Army about leaders' eyes . As young officers , we were taught to look for issues and problems , no matter how small , and then make corrections on the spot to resolve them immediately . Small problems become larger issues later if we don't fix them right away . So here's a great example .

Every army unit has a motor pool where we store our military vehicles . When we are not using them in training or performing our duties , when we walk in the motor pool , we look for issues to be corrected , even when we are not specifically tasked to do so . We are always a leader . We are always looking with leader's eyes for ways to solve problems . Let's say , we are actively looking for issues as we are walking in the motor pool and we notice a flat tire or an oil leak , we take immediate action to correct the problem . We assign resources to fix the problem . Then we continue on in our leadership responsibilities . So we use leaders' eyes to look over what we are responsible for . We assess the situation , then we take immediate action to solve the problem . We don't wait for our boss to fix it or tell us to fix it . We fix it immediately .

I want to briefly discuss a few points when it comes to developing leaders' eyes . Number one proactive leadership . As a leader , we are constantly leading and looking for ways to solve problems . We never stop looking to solve problems , no matter how small , because small problems can become bigger problems later . Leaders are expected to lead from the front . We are out front with our teams , getting the mission done every single day .

Number two coach your team members . Never miss out on an opportunity to positively rally your team members to become better and to improve what they are working on . We want every team member to continually improve their work portfolio . We want no complacency , no waiting on being told to do something . Taking initiative will be paramount in how to improve team effectiveness . And number three bring an infectious positive attitude in everything you do .

As you are solving problems and coaching your team . Be positive about it . Treat people with dignity . Please don't be disrespectful , rude or condescending . Talk with motivation . Speak in a way that inspires and encourages others to perform better . Promote teamwork and helping others as a team culture cornerstone . I want to encourage everyone who is listening to this to develop leader's eyes , to remind ourselves that as leaders , we never stop leading . We coach our team and we solve problems . What can you do as a leader to use leader's eyes to identify and solve problems on your team and in your organization ? Now have a great rest of your week . Thank you for listening to the Finance Leader Podcast . Please check out financeleaderacademycom , where you can find some great resources . Thank you .