Book Update
Later this year, we will release Unleashed Leadership, the first of an 8-book series. We’re looking for volunteers from our newsletter readership to be part of a review team—to read the manuscript before it is published and provide feedback. If you’re interested, please email Garland at garland@advanceleadership.live.
Welcome to Friday 411, issue #116. In 4 minutes, with 1 insight and 1 action, you’ll discover roles you should play as a leader—and one you shouldn’t.
1 Insight
Great leaders wear lots of hats. The secret isn’t choosing just one. It’s knowing which hat to wear—and when to take it off.
If you lead people, congratulations: you have more roles than an accomplished Broadway actor. On any given day, you might play the part of:
- Coach
- Trainer
- Accountability Partner
- Cheerleader
- Counselor
- Financial Advisor
- Career Strategist
- Mediator
- Disciplinarian
- Sounding Board
- Problem-Solver
- Encourager
- Translator
- Referee
- Therapist
- Lunch buddy
The list goes on and on—if we kept going, it could fill this entire article.
Here’s the tricky part: you look the same no matter what role you’re playing. As a result, your team will struggle to identify which role you’re playing at any given moment.
To make matters worse, you might not know which role you’re playing or need to play. You coach when you should hold accountable. You advise when you should listen. Or worse, you try to be a friend when your team needs a leader.
That’s why the best leaders aren’t stuck in one role. They know how to shape-shift. They choose the right role for the moment—and they name it.
We believe five roles are crucial to a leader’s performance and one role leads to a lot of pain and frustration. Let’s discuss the five critical roles first.
5 Critical Roles Every Leader Must Play
If you want to be a leader who builds healthy community with your team, these are five roles you must play regularly.
- Coach
A coach helps others improve by asking questions, giving feedback, and drawing out the best in their people. Coaching is not telling others what to do but rather helping them discover their best solutions and actions. It builds trust, encourages engagement, and strengthens performance.
- Accountability Creator
Without accountability, goals die slow and quiet deaths. Leaders must not only hold their teams to high standards but also create an environment where the whole team holds each other accountable. As Patrick Lencioni wrote, “Accountability is the willingness of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team.” Accountability isn’t about being harsh; it’s about helping people win.
- Trainer
Great leaders teach. They pass on skills, share their experiences, and help people grow. Training your team isn’t optional—it’s part of your job. When employees receive the training they need, retention improves dramatically. Forty percent of employees said that they feel valued when employers “provide growth opportunities.”
- Encourager
Never underestimate the power of a well-timed, “You’ve got this.” Encouragement fuels resilience. It boosts morale. It convinces others that they matter. People are self-critical. They need someone to remind them of their best selves. Research from Harvard Business Review shows that positive feedback improves performance more than criticism.
- Vision Caster
If you don’t remind people of the “why,” they’ll forget where they’re supposed to be going. Leaders must keep the team’s purpose, priorities, and plans in focus. Casting vision builds alignment and community. People want to belong to something meaningful.
The Most Destructive Role to Your Leadership
There is one role that many leaders want to play but can be dangerous: friendship.
Why is friendship an ill-advised role to play?
Because of position.
When a leader pursues peer-to-peer friendships with those they lead, it can result in distrust. Here’s why friendship is so tricky:
- Fear: Your title intimidates, even if you’re kind.
- Obligation: People feel they have to be close to you.
- Pressure: They’re on edge around you, not at ease.
- Control: You hold power over their time, money, and opportunities.
This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy time with your team or care deeply about them. It means you should prioritize connection through community, not friendship. There’s a difference:
Friendship is a peer-to-peer relationship of honor, respect, and affection expressed with a high level of authenticity and vulnerability.
Community is a group of people connected by shared interests, visions, or goals.
The Role Hat Tool
One of our favorite tools to simplify leadership is the Role Hat.
Here’s how it works:
Imagine that each leadership role is a different hat you wear. When a team member walks into your office with an issue, you can ask:
“What hat do you need me to wear right now? Coach, counselor, advisor, trainer, or something else?”
This helps them clarify what they actually need from you.
In interactions you initiate, you should specify your role by saying things like: “I’m taking off my coaching hat and putting on my accountability hat.”
Naming the role clarifies the conversation. It creates safety and helps you lead without confusion.
1 Action
Try the Role Hat tool this week. Ask a direct report: “What hat do you need me to wear right now?” Then listen. Clarify. And lead from that role.
It might feel awkward at first. That’s okay. You’re learning to lead with intentionality.