There is a steady stream being written and taught about leadership these days. There are tips about leadership Magic Johnson Womens Jersey , 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 Kobe Bryant Womens Jersey , 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 LeBron James Womens Jersey , 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 Brandon Ingram Authentic Jersey , 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 Kyle Kuzma Authentic Jersey , 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 Magic Johnson Authentic Jersey , 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 Kobe Bryant Authentic Jersey , 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 LeBron James Authentic Jersey , andor 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 Brandon Ingram Jersey , 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 Kyle Kuzma Jersey , 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.