You’re standing on the deck of your boat in the middle of the ocean. This is an entirely new experience. The ocean always has been that blue area on the map, never a reality. Now, you’re in command and racing towards the horizon. All of a sudden, the boat hits a swell, and you’re in the water. No one is around, and you’re faced with two decisions: sink or swim.

This is similar to most leadership situations you face. You’re in new territory that you only may have seen or heard about before. Leading one person or a group can be tricky, and that is why I created this tool as a leadership continuum. There are five fundamental steps, and they can be adapted to fit any situation.

The steps are:

(1) get to know your team;
(2) establish the standards;
(3) communicate the goals and responsibilities;
(4) supervise;
(5) reflect and set new goals.

Here is an easy outline format of the 5 essential steps of leadership to keep you on track.

Get to know your team
-Learn their strengths and weaknesses
-Use their strengths to develop another’s weakness
-Learn their personalities as well
-Everyone learns differently so seek the best method for the individual

Establish your standards
-Allow them to know what happens when they are wrong
-Reward them for exceptional behavior
-Don’t get in the habit of rewarding the bare minimum, then they will not strive to do better and further develop their skills

Communicate responsibilities
-Listen carefully to all requirements
–Who, What, When, Where, and Why?
-Clearly communicate each task
-Use the method that will best get the point across to the responsible individual
–Make sure they understand what needs to be done
–Make their roles in the task clearly known
–This is where the system of accountability comes in

Supervise
-Make sure the right person is doing the right job
-Implement your plan “B” if you need to
-Guide each individual in the right direction
-Don’t do the job for them

Get new task and set new goals
-Take the initiative to get something else done
-Use your team’s experience to the best that you can