Pause and Allow: The Art of Empowering Leadership. In today’s conversation Judith Germain speaks to Neil Jurd OBE who contrasts overly complicated leadership frameworks and emphasises the importance of simplicity. Judith notes the value of leaders being able to create space for their teams to contribute.
You can listen to Episode 468 on any of the popular podcast platforms or apps (including Spotify, and Audible). If you prefer to listen to your browser you can do that below. Enjoy!
Key Takeaways
- Neil emphasises simplifying leadership into two key concepts: connection (building relationships) and direction (clear, compelling purpose)
- Both agree leaders must genuinely care about followers and enable everyone to contribute, not just dominate
- Over-controlling and micromanaging are common leadership mistakes; allowing space for others to think/decide is crucial
Topics
Neil’s Background and Leadership Experience
- Founded leadership training company Leader Connect
- Established Michelle Jo Trust charity
- Heads leadership training for Army Cadet Force
- Former regular army officer
- Authored “The Leadership Book” (15,000+ copies sold)
Connection and Direction Leadership Model
- Connection: Build relationships, get to know people deeply
- Direction: Provide clear, compelling purpose in plain language
- Simplifies leadership into actionable concepts
- Emphasises leadership as service to followers
Common Leadership Mistakes
- Over-controlling/micromanaging
- Dominating conversations instead of listening
- Making everything about the leader rather than the team/objective
- Not allowing space for others to think and contribute
Leadership Insights
- Leaders don’t need to be experts in everything, but must know their people
- Creating space for others to think/reflect is essential but challenging for untrained leaders
- Courageous decisions and showing vulnerability can benefit the team
- “Pause and Allow” approach: set direction, then step back
In this conversation, they discuss common leadership mistakes, with Neil highlighting the tendency for leaders to get overly involved and micromanage, rather than empowering their teams. The antidote is for leaders to step back, allow others to think and decide, and focus on inspiring and aligning the team around the shared purpose.
Neil Jurd OBE is the author of the Leadership Book and founder of leadership training organisation and online leadership streaming platform Leader Connect.
Neil Jurd can be found on LinkedIn here. His website is here.
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