Exceptional Leadership Inspires the Best Effort in Others
There is a steady stream being written and taught about leadership these days. There are tips about leadership, courses about leadership, books, retreats, and continuing education ? all focused on leadership. While all of this material is useful and can certainly enhance one's leadership knowledge, for the most part it avoids asking and answering two questions: 1. Why does better leadership make a difference? , and 2. How does better leadership achieve those differences? We all know we're "supposed" to work to be better leaders, but why does it matter, what impact does it have, and how does this all work? Whenever I ask the "Why" question, the answers that come to the mind of most people are something like "better leadership creates more productivity, higher profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, more loyalty? you get the picture. But these responses bring us to the real question which is, "How does better leadership create those things? How does being a better leader lead to more productivity, higher profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, more loyalty?" It is the answers to these two questions which elevate us from simply learning and understanding better leadership principles to pursuing a course of action which transforms us and our leadership abilities into something that really makes a difference. I often suggest that my clients use their own experience as their best example. Ask yourself when, during your career, you felt the most satisfied, most productive, proudest, most focused, and most committed. When we reflect back on those times, most of us would acknowledge that we didn't feel like we did because our "leader" had made a good decision, or that they had gone through "leadership training" (That term is in quotes because leaders need to be developed, not trained.), or that their leaders were efficient, met their goals, or had success in the past. No, typically we felt the way we did (satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and committed) because of what we did ? what we accomplished. It all comes back to us and how we felt. It's generally not about anything external ? it comes down to our emotions. The key to exceptional leadership, therefore, lies within our ability to relate effectively with people and their emotions. Imagine if everyone at work felt satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and committed! What would the consequences be? The consequences would be that everyone would create greater productivity, higher profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, and more loyalty! The key then, to better performance, is helping people feel more satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and committed. Notice the absence of any technical or intelligence issues? Notice that we've haven't brought up the idea of "motivating" people? We haven't touched on motivating people for one simple reason? people can't be motivated! Trying to motivate someone is analogous to physically trying to get them to do something they don't want to do. You won't succeed. What really works is when we're self-motivated ? when we do something because we want to. When we're inspired, we enjoy our work. We're productive and proud of our efforts. We remain focused and committed to the task at hand. In short, we put forth out best effort. Exceptional leadership, therefore, is leadership that inspires people to give their best effort. Although, for a leader, being productive and having good time management skills are important and necessary, they are not sufficient. Having good judgment becomes increasingly important the higher in an organization we rise, however it too is insufficient for truly effective leadership. Exceptional leadership is about relating to people in such a way as to inspire them to give their best effort ? for themselves, their organization, their community, their family, and/or their world. How is this accomplished? The foundation of exceptional leadership ? of inspiring others ? comprises thee areas - Effective Leadership Philosophies (for yourself and your organization), Effective Purpose, Mission and Values, and Effective People Skills. * EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHIES Leading by Example - Whether we acknowledge it or not, we always lead by example. In our words (what we say or don't say), in our actions (what we do or don't do), and in our expressions (what we show or don't show). The things we do and say, during moments of "apparent insignificance", make an impression on those around us. Servant Leader Philosophies - In our leadership workshops, I'll ask participants who the most important person is to a company. The answer, of course, is the customer. The question that follows next is, "Who is the most important person in the company to that customer?" Most people get that the person most important to the customer is the one they come in contact with - the "frontline". The question that follows is the real key to a better understanding of servant leadership. This question is, "What, then, is the job of the manager of those frontline people?" The job of the managers of the frontline folks is to make their job as easy and as effective as possible so that the customer has the best experience possible! If this leadership philosophy is adopted throughout an organization, it ends up with an organizational chart that looks like an inverted pyramid. It is an organization that acknowledges the importance of the frontline and reflects the philosophy of service throughout. * EFFECTIVE PURPOSE, MISSION AND VALUES An organization which inspires the best effort in its people will attract the kind of employees it wants and needs, and will retain them. It has a Purpose, a Mission, and a set of Values that it lives by, it effectively communicates them, and it measures its actions and decisions against them. - Purpose is the "WHY" of the equation. It defines why we do what we do. Each decision and policy should take the company closer to achieving its "WHY". When a company has a clearly defined purpose it begins to act as a magnet, attracting the kind of people who will further the purpose; people who are like-minded. Not only will having a purpose attract the right people, but it will also act to retain them. - Mission is the "WHAT" of the equation. It defines what the company will be doing to achieve its Purpose. A mission can be fairly narrow or be somewhat broad. However, one that is too narrow can unduly restrict an organization from considering opportunities that would otherwise be an excellent fit and one that is too broad offers no guidance at all. - Values are the "HOW" of the equation. Values define how the Mission will be carried out in an effort to achieve the Purpose. They define the "rules of the game". Some of them will come to mind quite easily, things like honesty, courtesy, kindness, and ethics. But some other important values will only surface when brainstorming takes place - when different perspectives and voices are heard. * EFFECTIVE PEOPLE SKILLS I'll often ask clients or workshop attendees for the traits of the best boss they ever had and the traits of the worst boss. Inevitably, I'll get answers like: (Best) respected my ideas, worked to develop me, challenged me, listened, empowered me and let me make my own mistakes,? and (Worst) micro-managed, was overly demanding, poor communicator, mistrustful, ? What's interesting is that in no case were the technical skills or the intelligence of a boss either praised or condemned. All the notable traits, both good and bad, had to do with people skills. The goal of effective people skills is good Relationship Management. Relationship Management encompasses the ability to develop others, inspire others, influence others, resolve conflict, and build teamwork and collaboration. CONCLUSION The essence of exceptional leadership is the ability to inspire the best effort in others. When people choose to give their best effort, satisfaction increases, pride develops, innovation is born, productivity improves, stability prevails, and profitability increases. The keys to a highly performing organization are creating an inspiring environment and personally becoming an effective leader. We can create an inspiring environment by adopting effective leadership philosophies and clarifying a Purpose, Mission and set of Values. We can personally become a more effective leader by honing and acquiring effective people skills. Become a leader who inspires the best effort in others. Written by Michael Beck, President of Exceptional Leadership, Inc., a leadership development and executive coaching firm dedicated to creating exceptional leadership for higher profits and greater job satisfaction. Michael can be reached at 877-977-8956 or mbeck@XLeaders.com, and you can learn more about the company and these ideas at http://www.XLeaders.com.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Leader?s Ultimate Goal ? Connect to Engage!
Connect and Engage! Your People Are Your Power.
You Make The Difference
What do you think makes your company successful? Your newest hardware or software? The newest system you've put into place? The best location in town? Although these are important, they are not the key to success.
Lead People...Manage Things
Master The Five Key Facets of High Performance Leadership
The Leadership Vacuum
In today's fast moving, ever changing, and highly competitive world there is a vacuum of leadership. More than ever our government, businesses, religious organizations, and our educational institutions need leaders.
In Leadership, The Eight Ways Of Right Action (Part 2)
In Part 1, I said that leaders who can't have people take right action are ineffective, and I listed four of the eight ways of right action. In Part 2, I'll describe the remaining four ways.
Leaders Click It? Into Gear!
"Click It" Into Gear!
Value Driver Leadership
CHAPTER 1
************
VALUE
Evil, Hostile Grumpy Listeners? Think Again
I hated Kyle Sisk*. A notorious bully, Kyle punctuated my grade school years with misery. He would tease me about my weight, purposely rattle me with shocking language, delight in making me look foolish at every opportunity. Kyle had scary, penetrating eyes and sharp, jagged teeth that looked, appropriately, like fangs. He even had his own evil henchman named Eddie who would follow him everywhere, laughing a conspiratorial little laugh asking, "Heh, heh, what are we going to do next, Kyle? Heh, heh." (All Eddie was missing was a hump.) A typical encounter was the time I was walking home from school and Kyle and Eddie pounced from behind some bushes, grabbed my books and threw them in the mud. Even worse, they snatched my precious, brand new little purse and threw it into the branches of a tree, far out of reach. They then ran off cackling in triumph. I, purseless, limped home in tears.
Are You The Most Powerful Leader You Can Be?
As someone who teaches, manages, parents or influences you'll probably already be aware that powerful leadership is not just about the boss, it's about the team, irrespective of whether that team is in the classroom, in the office or around your home.
Ask Yourself Whats In It For WE?
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." - Henry Ford
Sometimes Leaders Need to Get the Boot
Today I stood up to a guy right in front of his boss. I challenged him, the former leader, to change his position and give up his position of power. He had fallen from that position though no fault of his own, yet, he didn't deserve the power that he desired.
Leadership Skills - 10 Ways to Beef Up
10 Ways to Beef Up Your Leadership Skills
Being an Extraordinary Leader Through Tough and Challenging Times
Tough and challenging times will surely come. That is a given. The question
is what kind of leadership we will demonstrate during those time. Those who
are weak leaders will see lasting damage done, if not see the organization
fall apart completely. With Extraordinary Leaders at the helm, however, an
organization can actually become stronger and thrive in spite of the tough
and challenging times. That should be our goal so here are some idea on how
to be an Extraordinary Leader in tough and challenging times!
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:
Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 2, Multiple Conversations
Side conversations ruin meetings by destroying focus and fragmenting participation.
Ten Characteristics of Leadership
Many people are interested in the characteristics of a great leader. There are many lists of these traits. These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic. According to him the most important trait is to be yourself!
The Leader Within
Each and every one of you has hidden deep inside a different person a person that is robust insightful originative, a person that you have forgotten that it ever existed. No matter what you believe that person lies within you, waiting for its awakening call.
Effective Leaders are (#1) Conceptual
SEE INTO THE FUTURE CREATIVELY AND PRACTICALITY: Planning day-to-day is obviously important, but a good leader must be able to see the long-range picture, to know the history of the organization and have a sense of the direction in which it is traveling. Effective leaders always have the long-range picture in mind as they plan laterally.
The Sink Or Swim Approach To Leadership
Looking around in most corporate environments today you'll find mission, vision and values statements proudly displayed on the walls, in print materials and even engraved in granite. Often, they've invested a great deal of time; effort and expense in crafting just the right message to best describe the foundational principles of the company. I can't help but stop, take notice; and then wonder how this foundational wisdom is incorporated into the day-to-day operations. What's in it for the operational leaders to carry out the mission in ways that align with the vision and values? How are they taught to walk the talk?
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 Twain
|
