Leadership and teamwork go hand in hand, don’t they? So to build a strong team you need new leadership for these turbulent times, don’t you think? Not doing so well, are we?
Future leaders certainly need to grasp this fact and understand the concepts of the best leadership lessons, qualities, and attributes didn’t they?
Coach Mike Krzyzewski said leaders should be reliable without being predictable. They should be consistent without being anticipated. Coach Krzyzewski certainly understood the leadership qualities of the best leadership, didn’t he?
Employ your best leadership.
Spot on. I have been in the military and business world for forty years, and I often get asked what leader qualities contribute to the best leadership.
Developing these qualities is a lifelong learning process. You are never done learning. Every great leader always looks for ways to improve on all of these qualities.
I have been in leadership positions in the military and business world for forty years, and I often get asked what the best lessons for future business leaders I have found. Surprisingly (or not) my list of lessons probably had varied to a degree, depending on when in my career it was constructed.
I have many leadership lessons learned in my years in the military (6 years) and business (35 years). Being a leader is a lifelong learning process. You are never done learning. Every great leader always looks for ways to improve the ability to improve their leadership qualities and attributes. These leadership qualities are a great source of learning.
Trust
Among all the attributes of the greatest leaders of our time, one stands above the rest: They are all highly trusted. You can have a compelling vision, a rock-solid strategy, excellent communication skills, innovative insight, and a skilled team, but if people don’t trust you, you will never get the results you want.
Leaders who inspire trust garner better output, morale, retention, innovation, loyalty, and revenue, while mistrust fosters skepticism, frustration, low productivity, lost sales, and turnover. Trust affects a leader’s impact and the organization’s bottom line more than any other single thing.
Truthfulness
Leadership that is not deeply rooted in a foundation of truth is leadership destined to fail. The reality is that the best leaders are also absolutists when it comes to the truth – they view truth as a non-negotiable.
However, in the wake of some of the recent, and highly publicized political scandals, it’s not too difficult to understand how some may question the existence of truth in business or government.
If you peel back the layers on most of the debacles that often transform themselves into highly sensationalized headlines, you’ll see that said problems often begin with rationalizations, justifications, posturing, and spin being substituted for the truth.
Courage
People will wait to see if a leader is courageous before they’re willing to follow his or her lead. People need courage in their leaders. They need someone who can make difficult decisions and watch over the good of the group.
They need a leader who will stay the course when things get tough. People are far more likely to show courage themselves when their leaders are.
For the courageous leader, adversity is a welcome test. Like a blacksmith’s molding of red-hot iron, adversity is a trial by fire that refines leaders and sharpens their game. Adversity emboldens courageous leaders and leaves them more committed to their strategic direction.
Exceptional leaders have contagious enthusiasm
What sets these leaders apart from mediocre leaders-every time, is a passion and enthusiasm for what they do. Their attitudes are positive, and their temperament is even-handed.
A leader in your organization with enthusiasm and passion will be the benchmark for the rest of your team. Without them, your work will be hard, but with them, your team can see extraordinary results.
These leaders bring out the best in those they serve.
Humility
Great leaders are humble. They don’t allow their position of authority to make them feel that they are better than anyone else.
As such, they don’t hesitate to jump in and do the dirty work when needed, and they won’t ask their followers to do anything they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.
Accountability
Great leaders have their followers’ backs. They don’t try to shift blame, and they don’t avoid shame when they fail. They’re never afraid to say, “The buck stops here,” and they earn people’s trust by backing them up.
Listens firsts and acts second
Someone who jumps to conclusions without first seeking to understand has made a fatal error—for themselves and their team.
To lead people effectively, you have to take the time to listen and see things from their perspective. You have to put yourself in their shoes and fully understand the situation.
Speak appreciation
Gratitude must be a constant drumbeat of your dialogue. Infuse your conversations with an appreciation of your team’s acumen and determination to improve.
Learn to be thankful certainly when there’s great success, but also be thankful for what you’ve learned through the hard times because there’s great wisdom in those experiences.
After you have been knocked down, gain your composure, reflect on why this occurred and make changes.
Keep an open mind
Those who close themselves off from certain ideas and associate only with like-minded people are missing out on not only personal growth but also opportunities for advancing their careers.
Maintain patience
The proper timing of your words and acts will give you a big advantage over people who are impatient.
Have a place for everything, and put everything in its place
Inspire and motivate
No matter how good you are, you will only be as successful as your team. So … getting the most from each team member is critical.
We call this being a multiplier leader. Multiplier leaders know the importance of bringing out the smarts and capabilities in everyone around them.
Foster teamwork
Peter Drucker made an interesting point when he said that leaders don’t train themselves not to say “I.” He’s implying that leaders innately work with others and let the team get the credit.
They don’t force themselves to say “we.” “We” is natural for them, and it’s the way they’ve always thought.
It can be negative for an organization to have an “employee of the month” or a “who gets credit for what” attitude. You work as a team when you don’t care who gets the credit.
So the next time you see someone with a resume that states, “I accomplished x” or “I did x,” it should send up a few warning signals.
Collaboration
It’s important to know it is OK to ask for help, advice and constructive criticism. There are very few places where a lone wolf leader can be effective.
Decisions are complex, and it takes a village of smart people to help make them. Leaders who aren’t inclusive may find that their organizations lack creativity.
Be decisive
While it’s helpful to get more than one opinion, strong leaders know when and how to make decisions.
Cabinet members could have argued forever, but Lincoln could know when he had all of the information he needed. Walking away to seek solitude, he was able to determine the best solution and make a decision without wavering.
Good leaders clarify their decision criteria, identifying musts and wants, and using that as a guide to compare options. Assess the risk of each option as well as the benefits, to help in making smart tradeoffs between alternatives.
Patience
Many leaders are intolerant of others who might do things differently, or at a pace the leader finds unacceptable. Action-oriented leaders may tend to jump to conclusions before things are thought through.
The lack of patience can manifest itself as anger or decisions that aren’t fully thought through. Be patient and reflective and always set aside thinking time. It is imperative for success.
Multiplier leadership
Multiplier leaders know that at the apex of the intelligence hierarchy is not the lone genius.
Instead, it is the leader who knows the importance of bringing out the smarts and capabilities in everyone around them.
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People first
No matter what the job is, leaders always want to look for the best people and then take care of them. An organization is just a group of people working on various creations and inventions.
People are your organization. It is as simple as that. It’s all about the people. They are the lifeblood of the business.
When you’re leading an organization, you’re leading people. It makes sense that leaders need to take care of their people. Many leaders work to have relationships with their employees.
Taking them out for coffee and getting to know them better is common among leaders. Putting people first is an important element in being a leader.
Learn good listening habits
To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice.
–Richard Branson
You don’t gain insights by talking. Nope. Ideas can come from anywhere, so it’s important to keep your ears open to new ideas and insight.
Leaders need to be good listeners of everyone … customers to employees to business colleagues. They need to listen to what other people say and not just hear it. Branson even carries a notepad with him so he can take notes on what people say.
Listening also helps a leader get multiple perspectives. When making a decision, a good leader always listens to some different people.
They know they own the final decision but always make sure they get input from multiple different perspectives.
The bottom line
No doubt these leader qualities are ones I demand from future leaders
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Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
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More leadership material from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Build an Effective Team by Being a Talent Hound
Success Enablers of Highly Creative Leaders
Secrets to Becoming a Remarkably Mindful Leader
Leadership Characteristics That Improve Influence |