8 Steps Towards Becoming The Leader You Need To Be To Succeed

An important part of success in life is the ability to lead. It is important that we not only be able to lead others but be willing to lead ourselves. No one succeeds in life by simply following others. Sometimes we simply must strike a bold new path for ourselves.

Being a good leader is more than simply being at the forefront of the crowd. A leader must act. Too often in Australia we simply accept that someone looks or sounds like a leader and too rarely do we actually look at the actions that leader performs -- and that is the true test of leadership.
However, in order to become good leaders ourselves, we need to concentrate on actions rather than simple appearances. The title of this article refers to eight steps, but do not think of these as progressive steps like so many recipes or instruction manuals describe. Instead, think of these as actions that you must take on a regular basis.

First, be alert to new potentials. "Reality" is not absolute but rather subject to constant change. Think about inventors, explorers, and agents of social change who have achieved greatness. Some might simply say that certain people are successful because they are lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Maybe so, but if they hadn't had their eyes open for the opportunity, then it wouldn't have mattered if they were in the right place.

Second, accept inspiration from wherever it comes; even your opponents. The wisest leaders constantly study their competition. In war, politics, and business we constantly see examples of this research and reconnaissance. Too many times though a certain study, many concentrate on finding a weakness to exploit. If you want to a be a leader of positive change don't fall victim to this trend. Instead, if you find a weakness, make sure to avoid that pitfall yourself. If you find the strength then find a way to strengthen your own qualities to match.

Third, learn something new and promote in new ways every day. This means you must continually seek to expand your horizons, internally and externally. Feed your mind with new lessons and knowledge, but constantly expand your social horizons as well. Seek out and meet new people and immerse yourself in new social situations. You never know when these new experiences will help you in your leadership role.

Fourth, search for and find answers in subtle clues. Look beneath the surface and constantly question. This is an extension of the third step in that you are seeking new knowledge. But this also means that you will need to step off the traditional paths of knowledge. Don't simply read books in the literary canon or the bestsellers list. Take seminars rather than classes as there is more room for questioning and debate. Seek out the unconventional thinkers, teachers, and writers.

Fifth, improvise if no existing solutions are available. No excuses. Necessity is the mother of invention. How do you know it won't work if you've never tried it before? Remember, not all approaches need to come from the front. Look at your problem from all sides and systematically attempt different solutions in various combinations.

Six, make at least one person you care about happy every day. If you make it a point to be thoughtful and caring for one person every day then soon this thoughtful, caring behavior will become a habit and that habit will spread to the others around you. Making someone else happy also feeds your own personal happiness. Just imagine how much better the world would be if we all did a little bit more to spread happiness.

Seven, offer help, even if there's no apparent advantage to you. This means more than writing a cheque. It means giving of your time and energy and yourself. Sometimes it will mean helping someone you don't know and sometimes it can be a very personal action.

Finally, never let negativity be your last word on the subject. If your final words are negative than no matter how hopeful you may be about the potential of a project or action the lasting impression you give to others is one of negativity. Accentuate the positive and you are more likely to see a positive outcome.

If you follow these eight action steps not only you will be a better leader but also lead yourself to a more successful life.

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Who is a Leader?

This question on the surface appears to be an easy question, however the reality is complex.

People in certain roles are leaders, whether they’ve studied for the role, like a doctor, lawyer, teacher or minister… were elected to the role, such as an MP, mayor, Senator or Prime Minister... or worked up the through the organisation such as a supervisor, General Manager, Vice President or CEO.

You can ask most anyone the question “Who is a leader?” and those are the kinds of answers they will give you.
They are right, of course.  But they are only partially right.
Leaders aren’t leaders because of a job title. 
Leaders are leaders because they lead.
Which takes me back to my previous question – “Are people born leaders?” Yes they are. But it isn’t just a few that have been hand picked by our Creator or random genetics.
We have all been picked – genetics has selected us all.
We were all born to lead, in our own way.

We may not be the Chairman of the Board.  We may not be the person on the stage. 
We may not lead with oratory or flair.
We may lead by compassion. 
We may lead by example.
We all can lead.

We all have the ability to be remarkable leaders. 
Leadership isn’t about position.
Leadership isn’t about power.
Leadership is about potential – your potential.

You are a leader.  Claim and believe this to be true, for it is.  Stake your claim and make a difference in the world around you.  Your opportunities for leadership are endless.  The rewards are boundless.

Where will you lead?

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Copyright Leadership and Management Solutions Pty Ltd 2013

Effective delegation: A key component of leadership

You've made an unusual discovery - there's not enough time left at the end of the day. The bottom line of course, is your list of important things to do never gets smaller. In any company, the CEO's to-do list has the potential to grow infinitely.

What's a senior executive to do?

You have doubtlessly concluded your next level of company performance requires a managerial change. And hopefully, you have realized the changes necessary are with you. As CEO (or, on a divisional or departmental level - senior executive) your jobs include holding the vision; inspiring your senior management and your staff; fostering key relationships with customers, vendors, investors and the public, etc.

You now need to let go of some cherished things like product design, hiring, perhaps day-to-day sales - many things you handled in the past, often out of necessity - and focus yourself on your role as CEO. What about all these things you used to do? Delegate them. Assign the job to someone else.

There are five components to successful delegation.

1. Give the job to someone who can get it done.
2. Communicate precise conditions of satisfaction.
3. Work out a plan.
4. Build accountability.
5. Get employee buy in.

Often timeframes are dictated by external circumstances. Still, your employee must sign on for the task at hand. If you say, "This must be done by next Tuesday," they have to agree that it is possible. Ask instead. "Can you have this by Tuesday?" To you this may seem a bit remedial, but the step is often overlooked. Whenever possible, have your delegate set the timeline and create the plan. You need only provide guidance and sign off.   If you skip any one of the above steps, you dramatically reduce the likelihood things will turn out the way you want them to. On the other hand, if you rigorously follow the steps, you greatly increase the odds in your favour. Isn't this more work than doing it myself, you ask. No - it isn't.

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Copyright Leadership and Management Solutions Pty Ltd 2013

Why leaders need to know their team

Leadership can be a very challenging task. As leaders we don’t always get to choose who is on our team. Quite often a leader inherits a team, of which most of the members have been there far longer than the leader, and may even know more about the work than the leader. Irrespective of the situation, one of the responsibilities of a leader is to motivate the team to all work together towards the common goal. This can be a daunting and at times frustrating challenge. Quite often the team is comprised of very diverse members, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and work styles. The team dynamics are also often complicated by internal disagreements and personal conflicts. The leader, not only has work with this group of people but also needs to achieve the results expected by their superiors.

Leaders can greatly benefit by being able to identify the types of personality characteristics of team members. By understanding the basic personality types, the leader can use individual strengths of members for the good of the team, as well as assign tasks that individual team members naturally excel in. A leader can also learn to communicate in a way that is motivating, by taking into account the needs, values and working preferences of different team members.

A good leader will see the greatest results by working and utilizing the strengths and working style characteristics of the personalities on the team. By correctly positioning the individual member strengths and compensating for weaknesses, the leader can bring the team into a productive balance and harmony.    By facilitating each team member to function in their areas of natural strength and motivating them by communicating in a way that inspires harmony and team work, the leader is well on the way to achieving extraordinary results.

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Copyright Leadership and Management Solutions Pty Ltd 2013

Empowered Leadership

 

It seems that every decade or so there is some new fad the runs through the business world in terms of supervision and in the world of diversity management, downsizing, outsourcing, generational work conflicts and the information age, things are even more complicated than ever before.

No longer does a one size fits all leadership model really work. We can’t treat everyone the same and expect that everything will just “work out” somehow. Managers and leaders must have a framework with which to manage their workers in an inclusive way that acknowledges everyone’s unique and specific position on the job.

Empowered leadership is the way to do just that. Empowered leadership shares the power between management and the workers, thus empowering both groups. Conventional wisdom tells us that when those in power relinquish some of that power by sharing it or giving it to their employees, then they would lose something when in actually, they gain.

Think about it. When people rule with an iron hand, they generally instill fear in those who work for them. Do you do your best work when you are afraid?  The absolute best a manager can hope for with coercion is compliance. If compliance is enough, then coercion might work in the short term, however it is more than likely to backfire and develop an us versus them mentality.

When leaders and managers seek to empower their workers, they will gain their loyalty. Workers want to give their supervisor their best when they are listened to and respected. Without fear, their minds can be creative and innovative. Giving away power only increases a manager’s power.  As a manager, you have a two-fold job—you are to represent your employees’ desires, opinions and suggestions to management while at the same time communicating management’s issues, concerns and expectations to your employees. This is not an easy line to walk.

You will never get the best from your employees if they don’t respect you. You cannot be a doormat for your employees to walk over. If they believe you have no bottom line or non-negotiables, then they will never be satisfied and always asking for more.

Set the bar high. Expect great things from each and every one of your workers. If you only expect mediocrity, mediocrity is exactly what you will get. Set the standards and lead by example. If your workers see you giving it your all, it will be difficult for them to perform below standard. Always enlist the help of your employees to set the goals, with the underlying premise being continual improvement.

As a manager, you have the responsibility to create a need satisfying workplace for yourself and your workers. You cannot emphasize one to the exclusion of the other without there being undesirable consequences.

When you focus on production only and forget the human capital, you will end up with resentful, resistant, angry workers. On the other hand, when you only focus on the people end and allow production goals to be compromised; you will have workers who do everything they can to take advantage and to get out of doing the work. After all, if you the manager don’t value production, why should they?

Somewhere in the middle, when you are walking that very fine line between relationships and production goals, you are practicing empowered leadership and that’s where you will get the most from your employees.

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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.

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Copyright Leadership and Management Solutions Pty Ltd 2013