When a podiatry business grows, you end up with a team, and that team needs to be led, and how you lead them will leave both positive and negative traces, which are referred to as Green Traces (positive) and Red Traces (negative).
In this episode, I am joined by Paul Kinkaid, an Executive Leadership Coach and retired Commando-trained Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army, and we're discussing how private practice owners need to step into the leadership domain if they want to thrive.
We also discuss:
- The difference between leadership and management.
- Self-awareness.
- The best leaders are always studying leadership.
- How you lead could be based on elements you've seen before, but did these examples of leadership leave positive traces (Green) or negative traces (Red) on you?
- Not asking questions results in the Law of Unintended Consequences.
- Difference between servant leadership and servile leadership
- A good leader will have a clear INTENT (Goal) and they need to paint this picture of the future for their team to follow.
- How a business benefits by creating leaders instead of followers.
- Followers will ask you constantly what they should do next, whereas leaders will tell you what they intend to do next and will keep moving forward.
- Creating leaders around you creates more space in your diary and mind, allowing you to be more strategic in your thinking.
- Managing processes is not leadership.
- Born leaders are doing leadership by default. This is also no good leadership.
Three guiding principles of forensic leaders:
- Lead from a position of care.
- Notice people and, where appropriate, give recognition or notice when they are struggling and lean in and help out. That’s when the leader gets their hands dirty. They see patients when it's busy and when required, they get back on the tools.
- Be appropriately transparent and communicate your intent - your vision, your purpose, and your strategy in a compelling way so everyone understands their part in the plan and therefore they’re going to get on board.
Doing the right thing always leaves GREEN traces on people and doing the wrong thing will leave RED traces.
The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.
You’ve got to sweat the small stuff; you’ve got to look at the details; they are that important.
When you start leading poorly and leaving red traces on your team, the good people will leave because they back themselves to get another job, and the less than good people will stay. This is damaging for your business.
Forensic Leadership - pay attention to the guiding principles and traces.
4 Key Questions
- What will happen if I do it?
- What won’t happen if I do it?
- What will happen if I don’t do it?
- What won’t happen if I don’t do it?
When you put the answers to all these questions through the forensic leadership filter, what green and red traces are going to be left and what is the impact on my people, then you know what the right decision is.
Every successful podiatrist leaves clues, green traces, and every unsuccessful podiatrist also leaves clues, red traces.
If your employer says the wrong thing in a meeting, you can easily say that was a bit red, or if was very red, you could say that left a really big red trace. As an employer, you don’t want to leave red traces.
Habit stacking
When you get up in the morning, what version of you has gotten up? Sometimes you’re just grumpy, or maybe you get cut off on the road on the way to work. Be aware of how you feel, as this will influence your leadership ability that day.
Make leadership deliberate, conscious and intentional.
Think about how you lead, the traces you leave on other people, and the traces that are left upon you, and you have to own those traces.
Combine that with a compelling narrative that gives the intent in a clear and compelling way you will have a fantastic team.
If you want to connect with Paul Kinkad, you can find him on Linkedin, or you can visit his website, Forensicoutcomes.com or send him an email at Paul@forensicoutcomes.com
If you have any questions, please email me at
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