Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Leadership is Learning


Too often I hear the complaint that current leaders lack this or lack that. And it is probably true, leaders are not perfect. Each of us comes up short somewhere or in something. These external criticisms are easily discounted in comparison to the personal criticisms we tend to provide ourselves. As leaders it is important that we overcome the irrational idea that because we are leading we are infallible. Or that there is a perfect solution to each situation faced and if it is not found the results will be catastrophic. The reality is that there are key principles of leadership that when applied regardless of the situation or our experience produce improved results. Good leadership is when the leader has learned key principles and applies them, such as innovation, inspiration and initiative. Each new circumstance is a different learning opportunity, and leadership is developed by learning how to apply the principles appropriately. So mistakes will be made and that is OK, keep trying and learn.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Passion not Position

Leadership is about passion not position. Leadership is derived by influencing others and others cannot be influenced by you if your own personal belief as a leader is so weak that it does not even motivate yourself. In considering many effective leaders the one thing they share is the personal conviction of their “cause” whether business, war, religion or politics. When people support a leader they commit to the ideal espoused by the leader’s vision. Their commitment is based on their belief in the future, not on who the leader is or their position.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Speak with Confidence

Leadership requires a certain level of competence, in order for others to have confidence in their leader. One of the quickest ways followers can loose confidence in their leaders is based on their ability to communicate. And most of the factors contributing to the listener’s confidence come from subtle cues such as eye contact, voice, body movement, pace, and articulation. Through preparation everyone can minimize distracters and improve their delivery.

Here are a few simple effective tips to improving a verbal presentation, whether to an individual or group.
- Preparation: rehearse, consider important questions the listener needs answered why, what and who, plan your time
- Introduction: catch the audience’s attention with the “why”
- Presentation: provide sufficient information in the body to fully cover the topic
- Conclusion: end with a action challenge, reminding them of the material and what they need to do

Thursday, November 8, 2007

A leader on and off the “field”

Good leadership is inspirational and good leaders need to be involved in order to inspire. A recent experience I had really brought home to me the importance of leader participation in activities outside of the normal organization’s activity. Leaders need to be there, rather than maintaining a distant persona, who can’t relate with the general populace of the group due to their leadership status. Instead leaders need to jump in and participate with the group in activities outside of the daily routine.
The example I saw was a flag football game between departments, on the sideline and on the field leaders from every level were out participating. It was fun, fast and flawed and the camaraderie developed was incredible. It seemed everyone was involved at some level whether playing, coaching or commenting from the sideline.