7 Ways for Gregarious Leaders to Remain Genuine
The value of gregariousness means seeking and enjoying being in crowds and socializing; or friendly.
Leadership Questions:
- What drives your need to be social?
- What are the risks (and potential costs) of being too friendly with your team?
- How can you use your gregariousness to influence others in a positive, non-self-serving way?
- When socializing with your team, how do you ensure respect for your leadership is never damaged?
Being Genuine and Gregariousness
Sometimes leaders are portrayed as solemn, stoic, or even unhappy. While they may have earned the respect of others, who wants to spend time around such sad faces?
On the other end of the spectrum, overly outgoing leaders can be criticized as being fake. Think of political candidates who have mastered glad-handing techniques within a crowd, and yet no one believes they will follow through on their campaign promises.
Is it possible for a leader to be joyful and authentic? Can a leader be social with others without appearing insincere?
Gregarious leaders tend to be individuals who truly love people. They draw energy and strength by just being around others. In fact, they need to be around people. If they were forced to sit behind a desk all day and work alone it would feel like being in a prison.
So how does a leader remain genuine while being gregarious? Here are 7 ways:
- Embrace the value of candor. People need to know you mean what you say, and you say what you mean.
- Be grounded in humility, and show you don’t take yourself too seriously. Humility and humor make a leader seem more…. human.
- In addition to passion, produce results. As the old saying goes “Talk is cheap, but money buys the beer.”
- Ask a lot of questions. If you’re honestly seeking input and ideas from others, your gregarious nature will be viewed in a positive light.
- Combine the magic of charisma with other attributes to add real value to others.
- Do all things out of love (for others) and not for personal gain.
- Stay true to your fundamental values and don’t cross the line.
How can the value of gregariousness help improve your leadership effectiveness?
Today’s value was selected from the “Fun-Recreation” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Values.
