Skip to main content
Facilitate Magazine: Informing Workplace and Facilities Management Professionals - return to the homepage Facilitate magazine logo
  • Search
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @Facilitate_Mag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Logo of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
    • Comment
    • People
    • Reports
    • Research
  • Features
    • Analysis
    • Features
    • Round Tables
    • Webinars
  • Outsourcing
    • Contract Finder
    • Contracts
    • FM Business Models
    • Interviews
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Opinion
    • Procurement
    • Trends
  • Know-How
    • Explainers
    • Legal Updates
    • White Papers
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Workplace Services
      • Hospitality
      • Catering
      • Cleaning
      • Front of House
      • Grounds Maintenance
      • Helpdesk
      • Mailroom
      • Manned Guarding / Security
      • Pest Control
      • Washroom Services
      • Disaster Recovery
      • Specialist Services
    • Professional Performance
      • Behavioural Change
      • Continual Professional Development
      • Education
      • Management
      • Recruitment
      • Training
    • Workplace Performance
      • Benchmarking
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Operational Readiness
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Workplace User Experience
      • Workplace Culture
    • Compliance
      • Health & Safety
      • Risk & Business Continuity
      • Standards
      • Statutory Compliance
    • Building Services
      • Architecture & Construction
      • Asset Management
      • Building Controls
      • Building Fabric
      • Drinking Water
      • Fire Protection
      • HVAC
      • Landscaping
      • Mechanical & Electrical
      • Building Security
      • Water, Drainage & Plumbing
    • Technology
      • Building Information Modelling
      • CAFM
      • Data & Networks
      • Document Management
      • Information Management
      • Internet of Things (IoT)
      • Software & Systems
    • Energy management
      • Energy Management Systems
      • Electricity
      • Gas
      • Solar
      • Wind
    • Sustainability
      • Environmental Quality
      • Social Value
      • Waste Management
      • Recycling
    • Workspace Design
      • Agile Working
      • Fit-Out & Refurbishment
      • Inclusive Access
      • Lighting
      • Office Interiors
      • Signage
      • Space Planning
      • Storage
      • Vehicle Management / Parking
      • Washroom
    • Sectors
      • Corporate Office
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Manufacturing
      • International
      • Retail
      • Sports & Leisure
      • Regions
  • Buyers' Guide
Quick links:
  • Home
  • Know How
Explainers

Follow the leader

Open-access content Tuesday 8th January 2019 — updated 7.14pm, Tuesday 26th May 2020

09 January 2019 | Martin Reed


Many leaders labour under the misapprehension that they're better than their team thinks they are. Don't fall into the same trap, says Martin Reed.


The traits of a leader

The traits of a great leader are vision, passion, optimism and, most of all, integrity. These traits form the building blocks of trust between you and your team. It isn't about the leader seeking glory or basking in the limelight; rather, it's about making their teams happy and productive. 


Don't seek the limelight

Take football manager Jose Mourinho as an example. He's always giving interviews and putting himself at the forefront of everything. Compare him with Dave Brailsford - the general manager of six times Tour de France-winning Sky Cycling Team - who focuses his efforts on supporting his team. Bad leaders are only interested in what their peers (and public) think of them, rather than their teams.


Pass on the responsibility 

It's essential that great business leaders make sure they pass on the responsibility of leadership through their teams at all levels and don't just see themselves as 'the leader'. 

Research carried out by anthropologist Professor Robin Dunbar suggests that the human brain has a finite ability to hold down only 147 real relationships and, if half of those are personal, I can only hold around 70 work-related relationships. 

In a business of more than 3,200 staff and hundreds of clients we need leaders at every level if we are to connect not just with our staff, but also with clients, suppliers and wider stakeholders. 

The vision for our business is "to have staff who love working for us and clients who love working with us", and we don't focus on being the biggest or most well known. This has worked well for us. 


Set the example at the top

My job is to behave and be seen to be a great leader so the other leaders at every level in our business can have a reference point to be great leaders in their own right. 

Most leaders think they are better than their teams think they are. There is little data on this, but it is my experience. So how do I determine if my leadership skills are up to the job? Well, you can't really get quantifiable feedback through surveys, for example, but you can get a feeling of the effectiveness of your leadership through small interactions with your team. 


Be seen as an ally

It sounds strange, but you know when people truly see you as their leader when they don't see you as a leader. My team members trust me to help them through the tough times and they seek my counsel when they have problems. They know they can count on me for support. 

However, I know when people don't see me as a leader - it is when they hide things from me and only tell me the good stuff, until they have absolutely no choice but to share the bad news. This is a sign that they don't trust me and so I have to make sure I give them reasons to do so. Often, they have had bad experiences in previous companies where they may have seen a different leadership approach.


Find your inspiration - and a bit of perspective

If I am looking for inspiration, I talk to a friend of mine who is a senior nurse who heads a team in a children's hospital. She has to lead in extremely stressful situations. 

When things are bad, she has to lead by example and her integrity is core to her beliefs. If her team members don't trust her, the results could be catastrophic. When I am having a bad day because the latest bid we tendered for didn't go our way I speak to her to put my working life into perspective!  


Martin Reed is CEO at Incentive FM Group 

Also filed in:
Know How
Content
Explainers

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Today's top reads

 

Latest Jobs

Project Leader (Maternity Cover One Year Contract)

Cambridge
Circa £50,000 Pro Rata + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56378

Maintenance Supervisor

Surrey
Up to £43,000 + Excellent Package & Opportunities
Reference
56376

Regional Facilities Manager

South West England
Circa £40,000 + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56375
See all jobs »

 

 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to print

Sign up to receive our bi-monthly magazine

Subscribe
Facilitate magazine cover, June 2020
​
FOLLOW US
@Facilitate_Mag
Facilitate Magazine
Facilitate Magazine
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel: 020 7880 6200
​

IWFM

About IWFM
Become a member
Qualifications
Events

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to Facilitate Magazine
Write for Facilitate Magazine

General

IWFM Jobs
Help

© 2022 • www.facilitatemagazine.com and Facilitate Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ