4 Things Every Leader Must Steward

Culled from http://www.leadershipwithsass.com

A leader’s ultimate responsibility is to be a steward for the company. If you are a leader within your company, then you’re responsible for stewarding four important elements: People, Vision, Money and Culture.

1. People

Your No. 1 responsibility is to be a steward for the people you are responsible to influence. The higher up in the organization you go, the more important this first element becomes. Being a good steward for your people means you understand, care for, and create an environment that supports their success, their growth, and their future. Holding people accountable is a form of stewarding their growth.

2. Vision

Vision is one of the most powerful and underestimated motivational tools that a leader possesses, yet seldom do leaders at every level steward the vision. Many feel this is the sole responsibility of the founder or CEO. Not true. Every leader stewards the vision. You do this by:

A. Knowing the vision.
B. Connecting the vision by sharing illustrations and stories as to how the vision makes a difference in the community or the world.
C. Tracing and connecting every teammate’s job to how their role supports the vision.
D. Reinforcing the vision by recognizing teammates who live it out.

3. Money

Leaders at every level are financial stewards for the companies they serve. Often times how we spend money differs on whether it’s “my money” or the “company’s money.” Successful business leaders spend money wisely – not tight and not frivolously, but prudent and smart as if you were investing in your retirement or your child’s college fund.

4. Culture

You make the culture. The CEO may talk about it, but the people of the company determine the culture by how they live it out daily. As a leader, you steward the culture by defining what you want, then inspiring it, living it, recognizing it and disciplining when someone abuses it.

Stewardship is a powerful concept that’s easier talked about than lived out. Are you up to living out stewardship even if no one notices it? Trust me, over time others will notice because your stewardship will drive results with the people, the vision, the money and the culture.