Leadership can be described as the process of engaging and including others for the achievement of a specific goal or aim. Be aware that leadership does not always need to go hand in hand with management, but for the vast majority of businesses, you can't afford a separate leader from your managers.
Indhira Ghandi said that "leadership at one time meant muscles but today it means getting along with people", and there is a great deal of truth to that, although more is required - as a leader you need to inspire and motivate your staff to deliver more together than they would alone. A leader without management skills is likely to become frustrated quickly - they'll know what they want, but be unable to co-ordinate activities to deliver it! Some key qualities for leaders are integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment, sincerity, passion, confidence, positivity, wisdom, determination, compassion, sensitivity, and a degree of personal charisma. As the leader you will have to make ethical and value judgements, alongside the technical and business decisions that come with management. It's not just about having your name printed with "CEO" or "Managing Director" next to it - you have to walk the talk.
The reason for this is that leaders who can demonstrate persistence, determination and consistency will bring out the same qualities in their teams. On the other hand if you demonstrate inconsistency, a lack of integrity and a hap-hazard approach to work, your team will follow your lead in that, too.
Flip Flippen's Personal Constraint Theory says that every leader is the cap that limits the performance of his organisation. If you are disappointed in the way your business is performing, look in the mirror - you have a leadership problem. Want to blame your staff for doing everything wrong? Ask yourself who hired them, trained them, built the systems and processes they use, and who ultimately manages them. The finger is pointing at you, not them! If you doubt this, I strongly recommend reading Flip's "The Flipside" book, which will tell you a great deal about improving yourself to improve your life.
It's not just your position that gives you authority as a leader, it's also the quality of the relationships that you build with your team. You see, as a leader you get your authority as one side of an exchange, but if you fail to deliver the goods and don't live up to your staff's expectations, they will reward you by performing like drunken slugs.
Leaders who take the time to develop a powerful vision for the business with their teams have the upper hand over their competition, because they'll follow you until the ends of the earth, working longer hours for less pay and with a passion that cannot be bought with mere money. A strong leader will be followed into the trenches by his people, because he understands that leadership is about being the best and showing that taking the high road is what sets the tone for the rest of his team. Winston Churchill in his leadership of the British during the bombings of the Second World War was inspirational. Who could not have felt excited, honoured and even privileged to be on Winston's team.
In the same way, Apple has Steve Jobs, the charismatic and visionary leader who understands what it means to be Apple. He has effectively created and policed a set of core values that define exactly what the company is. As a consequence of the creative environment that he's created, the business reinvented itself and delivered the iMac, the iPod and now the iPhone. People wondered whether or not the iPhone would catch on, but of course we now know that Jobs' ability to deliver products that people simply adore, a kind of product leadership, is unimpeachable.
On the other side of the fence you've got Microsoft and Bill Gates, a man once described as "paranoid" I believe, in that he would never rest on his laurels, always wary that Microsoft could become the victim of another upstart company, just like Microsoft over-hauled IBM, which suffered from a lack of real leadership for many years.
Now while you're wondering how to develop yourself to have these qualities, start to think a little deeper. Think what happens when you don't want to work anymore - who will be your company's leader then? How are you going to grow these people to help you? That's where business coaching can come in - to either mentor you in growing your staff, or to coach your talent directly for you and help them to grow to replace you. Whichever way you go, don't make the mistake that so many make - if you like the feeling of being indispensible to your own business, you're building a trap for yourself, too.
A comprehensive business coaching service is offered by Lee Duncan.com. It includes psychological profiling using The Flippen Profile and will help you to develop as a leader personally, as well as helping you to develop the future leaders in your organisation. A former international business executive, this Cambridge business coach works with companies throughout the UK to develop their business performance and staff.
Daring to be Yourself
The aim of the new book, Daring to be Yourself by Peter Shepherd, is to help you achieve a 'wide-awake' state of consciousness, with integrated use of left and right brain abilities, forming the bedrock for breakthroughs in personal consciousness and spiritual insight. The practice is based on the premise that we have learned disabilities that set boundaries to our action and knowing. But no one need accept that they must remain as they were shaped by their hereditary body-mind and by the conditioning of their childhood and culture.
This 264-page eBook is like a "best of" the Trans4mind site, all brought together for your convenience. But much more than that, it's also an incredibly powerful program for personal growth. Remove the barriers to self-knowledge and reveal your full potential with this step-by-step approach... Daring to be Yourself. Also available for Kindle (or the free Kindle Reader application for all platforms) at Amazon.com.
Our Blog features excerpts from the book plus current news, views and links.
More Trans4mind eBooks: Click here to download the Trans4mind eBook Catalog + complimentary eBook!
"I realize many people use praise in ways that sound frivolous...but I must tell you that your book has changed my life AND I mean that in all ways. I found the entire work wonderfully upbeat, readable and valuable! It really was quite a wakeup call. In the midst of my "trials and tribulations" I had failed to be "me." Anyway, this "talk with you" really did change my life. Thank you! I needed this kind of "kick in the pants." It worked. WOW! You made a huge difference in my world."–Becky, USA
A digital copy of Daring to be Yourself is included with purchase of the Start a New Life! home-study course - which is effectively the practical "workbook" that accompanies the book by Peter Shepherd.
Working through this course enables you to dare to be yourself and design a brand new life. Expressing your true needs, wants and feelings, you can start to live your life's purpose!
After you have purchased the course, Peter Shepherd is available whenever you wish by email, to guide you every step of the way from where you are now, until you are established in a brand new life - the life that you have designed... Start a New Life!
|
