Foundations for Effective Leadership

If you were to build a house, you would start with strong foundations.

So, what does this have to do with leadership?

A good listener, enthusiasm, passion, shows appreciation, a visionary, role model, trusting, integrity, organized, knowledgeable, credibility, persuasive, charisma, team building, clarity of purpose, problem solver, attitude of service, leads by example, patience, willing to act without complete knowledge, understands followers, consistent, empowers other people, and adapts to change.

This is essentially the same list that I receive time after time when I ask this question. From this information comes some useful insights.

1) The list contains characteristics relating to the human side of leadership.  That's interesting because I often hear people diminish this side of leadership with terms like "soft" or "touchy feely." Actually, applying these characteristics requires more strength than not.

2) The list excludes characteristics such as stern, mean, serious, short tempered, vindictive, tough, angry, harsh, punitive, controlling, violent, or ruthless. And that's interesting because many popular representations of leadership emphasize at least one of these "hard" characteristics. In fact, these characteristics are the refuge of those who lack the strength (or the skills) to apply the human side of leadership.

3) How would you rate yourself as a leader compared to the list of positive characteristics? If you were to survey the people who report to you, how would they describe your leadership? Would they list characteristics from the "soft" list or from the "hard" list? Could you become more effective by improving upon any of the "soft" characteristics? And how about the other leaders in your organization? Do they truly maximize human potential?

People want leaders who treat them with genuine compassion, courtesy, and respect. They want leaders who help them become more successful. They want leaders who inspire them with a vision for a better world and show them how to go there.

Like to build strong leadership foundations for your business?  Contact us.

http://www.leadershipmanagementsolutions.com.au

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