….If this is something your reportees say about you then you may be on the right track towards becoming an effective leader.
The more I read about leadership and practice becoming an effective leader, the more I get convinced that one of the essential and central attribute to master is ‘being caring and empathetic’ towards the team members. It involves being genuinely interested in their growth (professional and personal- both are so integrated) – and a ‘growth above self’.
What ‘growth above self’ means that you help them gain skills, promote them, increase their visibility – let them take credit when it is due. A strong leader remains backstage when the team takes credit and he is at the forefront in taking responsibility when it is time to take responsibility of a failure or a mistake.
This shows up in the behaviors. One may think that this ‘soft leadership’ may not go far and people may start taking advantage. Well, my experience says the opposite. The exceptions are always there but people are motivated the highest when they have a good boss who cares for them.
A long journey of learning for me ahead….but definitely I would want to build more on these experiences.