Leadership Blog
Your Career Change
Insider Secrets
Definition of Leadership
"inspiring unity and the very best personal efforts for the benefit of the enterprise"
| ||
| ||
|
Definition of Leadership "inspiring unity and the very best personal efforts for the benefit of the enterprise" |
|
|
|
Leadership Prep
So you want to be a leader? Or you want to be a better leader? It can be done, you know. No matter where you are in your leadership journey, you CAN move forward. You CAN lead better. You CAN lead more people. You CAN lead your organization to higher ground. Yes, you CAN! But let me tell you this: You won't do it via osmosis! It won't just "happen." Growing in your leadership is not something that comes from the fairy godmother of leadership. You can't touch the hem of Jack Welch's garment and become "Super-Leader!" Oh, that it were that easy! So what does it take? Time. Experience. Training. Hard Knocks. A Mentor. Discipline. And a few others. But let's start at the very beginning. You want to be a leader. That's good. You want to be a better leader. That's good too. But what comes first? Preparation. Leadership Prep. What is it? What needs to happen in order to get yourself ready to become a leader? As you get ready for 2002 and you want to take the next step in your leadership, take these last days of November and go through a little reflection on Leadership Prep. Before you become the leader you want to be: Count the cost. Leadership is hard. There will be times that you say, "Leadership isn't worth it. These people are crazy and I don't deserve this." It is true. You don't deserve it. But you choose it. You choose it because you want to lead people. You want to improve their lives. You see the higher ground that they cannot see and you desire to take them there. It will take time. It will take money. It will sap your strength and energy. Count the cost, my friend. Leadership is not for the weak and timid. Yes, the rewards are great, but so are the sacrifices. Prep yourself for the cost of leadership. Assess your strengths and weaknesses. Too many people dive into trying to lead and end up dying out because they were not honest with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses. They get going and realize that they should have strengthened themselves in certain areas because now it is killing their ability to lead. If you know your strengths, then you can focus yourself on them and allow yourself to be successful through them. If you are aware of your weaknesses you will be able to stay away from them, or hire to cover them, and thus allow yourself to become even more successful as a leader. So prep yourself by becoming exceedingly clear on your strengths and weaknesses. Settle in for the marathon, not the sprint. Very few - I mean VERY few - people get big leadership assignments at early ages. And when they do, even fewer of the few see things happen fast in their leadership. No, usually things happen slowly. Why do we think they will happen fast then? Because those are the only stories we hear on TV and read about in magazines. "Twenty-five year old starts business that grows to $20 million a year in sales in JUST TWO YEARS," Sells a lot better than "Forty-five year old works hard for twenty years and builds lasting business that makes a difference in her community." Right? Right. So, unless you are one of the chosen few, you will need to prep for a marathon, not a sprint. This is both a mental and emotional adjustment that needs to be made. Prep for the long haul! Develop a learning attitude. You have perhaps heard it said, "Leaders are readers." It is true. Even more so, leaders are learners. I don't know any leader who has attained any level of leadership who doesn't keep him or herself on the edge of learning. One of my mentors runs a company that you would all know by name - in fact, you probably used one of their products today, no matter where you live in the world - that does billions of dollars a year in revenue (Yes, with a "b") and he still takes time each year to go to a school of leadership! He is already a tremendously successful leader yet he is still working on it! THAT is a learning attitude! If you want to lead, prep yourself for it by developing a learning attitude. Acquire a love for people. In reality, we do not lead organizations or businesses. No, we lead people. We are successful if we know how to lead people. People are the name of the game. And the best way to become a leader of people is to love people. Others can tell instinctually whether or not we love them and have their best interests at heart. If they do not know that we care for them they will not follow. Leadership is the art of directing people who we care for and desire to help. In other words, we love people. If you have an issue with people, chances are you are not ready to lead them. To prep yourself for leadership, acquire a love for people. If the other things are in place, then they will want to.. missing rest of article... About The Author: Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams. To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.
MORE RESOURCES:
Leadership - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Pure Discipline General George S. Patton was born on November 11, 1885 on his fathers ranch and vineyard in Los Angeles County over what is today the city of Pasadena and much of the UCLA campus. Shades of Grey: Government, Religion, & People Some think that everything is black and white. I'm beginning to see everything as different shades of grey. Make The Elephant Jump -- Leading With A Kind Heart Leadership is not about getting people to do what they want. If they did what they want, you wouldn't be needed as a leader. Would Socrates Be A Celebrity Today? Last week, as I was standing in the checkout line of my local grocery store, I found myself staring at the dozen or so magazines on display. As I gazed upon the various photos and headlines praising or trashing the celebrity du jour, I got to thinking. Character -- Why It Matters In Leaders "Character is much easier kept than recovered." -Thomas Paine"The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back. Who Needs Heroes? When we were talking the other day we started to think about our heroes when we were young. After we had discussed the usual film star and sports stars that we idolised I remembered Derek. 10 Attributes of Effective Strategic Leaders! Did you know that people who lead strategically resemble fine-tuned machines? By focusing on their strategies, leaders see a bigger picture, they understand the reasons why and recognize the worthiness of elusive opportunities.Effective leaders make strategic use of and add value to every challenge in four important ways:1) Thinking through the lessons to be learned in each situation;2) Leveraging the available sources, imports and exports of energy;3) Boosting weak, diffused signals and messages of meaning;4) Sharpening the leading edge of innovative efforts - their people. Building Teams and Teamwork A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals who care deeply about each other and are fiercely committed to their mission. They are highly motivated to combining their energy and expertise to achieve the common objective. The Metamorphosis of the Successful Executive . . . Overcoming Professional Stagnation You're a bright, successful business executive making good money and managing a capable staff of accomplished professionals. You are successful beyond your wildest business school dreams. Leadership Tips From My Dad Lee (L.B. Leadership Is Action?Not Position! People respond to good leadership! Period! It is in all aspects of our lives, not just business. A mother is a leader in her home; a son may be leader of a team sport or a daughter the leader of the debate team. People Problems -- Understanding the Dueling Paradigms You've spent the last 12 years riding your technical skills up the corporate ladder.Now the payoff -- you're a manager. Leadership Skills: Four Ways of Overcoming Perfectionism We pay a high price for perfectionism. "What perfectionism?" we perfectionists mutter. Leadership Success and its Greatest Barrier: the Law of Administrivia Years ago, a very wise, and often cynical boss of mine asked me for a definition of management. After reflecting on the question I proceeded to give him an intellectually careful and, I thought, accurate definition. What Makes A Good Leader? Ask Uncle Sam What do the major generals who are leading the war efforts in Iraq have in common with executives and entrepreneurs who are conducting business back home? When it comes to leadership, the answer is probably a lot more than you think.In a recent study conducted by the Army War College, subordinates of the major generals who are leading the war efforts in Iraq were asked to rate the performance of their superiors. Real Charisma, Clinton Style What exactly is Charisma? Most would agree that it is a magical, illusive, personal quality, divinely endowed on some people more than others. One thing is for certain, it is more easily identified than defined. The Ten Commandments of Leadership A poem hangs on the wall at Mother Theresa's orphanage in India. For all who are called to lead, it is a great reminder of what we should do:1. Awaken the Leader in You: 10 Easy Steps To Develop Your Leadership Skills "The miracle power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance, under the promptings of a brave determined spirit." - Mark TwainMany motivational experts like to say that leaders are made, not born. Having Fun In Leadership "Don't measure your life by your goals, but rather by what you are DOING to achieve them."-UnknownOne of the biggest mistakes leaders make is getting so wrapped up in achieving results, they forget to ensure that people are having fun along the way. Leadership Styles and What We Need For the Future: By definition a leaders leads a team to take action in favor of the vision.The most well know methods for assessing leadership styles, such as DISC, have outlived their usefulness! Are leadership styles really captured in a neat questionnaire like DISC that measures Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness? Can we predict the leaders from the profile that DISC generates? Can we test great leaders and say people with the same profile will have similar success?It seems the answer is less obvious.
|
|
home | site map | links | about | contact
|
| © 2006, 2007 Career Consulting Limited
|
Comment by Frank O'Donnell
