Are We Unlocking Doors for Others?

Are we door openers?

Are we providing growth opportunities for others — and for ourselves?

As leaders, we have both an obligation and a social responsibility to open doors for the individual members of our teams.

Some are unlocked, and all we have to do is turn the knob. That’s easy. But others are double bolted.

We strive to get our teams to buy into our values, our habits and our mission. But our players and employees have personal goals that lie on the other side of a locked door. And they need our help to reach them.

We need to be their locksmiths. We need to understand their vision, we need to follow up, and we need to have keys ready to unlock doors for them.   

Let’s make sure we ask if they know whether the space on the other side is bright or dark, large or small. Is it worth the time and effort? We don’t want to waste energy prying a door open that leads to a dungeon.

Not everyone on our team will know their personal goals. That’s OK. Can we recommend a door and a pathway?  

As leaders, we need to realize that most of those we lead can’t get to where they want to go on their own. Some don’t even know what direction they're facing. If our response to that is, “I did it on my own. Why can’t they?” Then we’re really missing it. We have to have solutions to problems and suggestions for uncertainty.

Ultimately, we will be judged by our wins and losses, our bottom line, the tangible performance indicators.    

But the most pivotal part of our leadership record is the number of doors we unlock for others. 

And when we help our players and employees manifest their personal dreams, we’ll likely find that the doors begin to open for ourselves as well. 

P.S. If you are in search of a book recommendation, our team at The Daily Coach highly recommends Leading Without Authority: How the New Power of Co-Elevation Can Break Down Silos, Transform Teams, and Reinvent Collaboration by Keith Ferrazzi with Noel Weyrich. This book redefines collaboration with a radical new workplace operating system in which leadership no longer demands an office, an official title, or even a physical workplace. Ferrazzi draws on over a decade of research and over thirty years helping CEOs and senior leaders drive innovation and build high-performing teams to show how we can all turn our colleagues and partners into teammates and truly reboot the way we work together.

Please forward and share this email with your friends and family.