Plan for Leadership – How to Be a Better Leader
If you were to construct a home, you would begin with a plan. This plan shows helpful since it consists of more than directions on the best ways to build a house. It also explains the finished house.
So, exactly what does this have to do with leadership?
Last month I asked an audience of leaders to tell me the attributes of a perfect leader. Their responses were (in the order collected):.
A great listener, enthusiasm, passion, shows appreciation, a visionary, role model, trusting, integrity, arranged, experienced, trustworthiness, convincing, charisma, team structure, clearness of purpose, issue solver, attitude of service, leads by example, persistence, ready to act without total knowledge, comprehends fans, consistent, empowers other people, and adapts to alter.
I’ll include that this is essentially the very same list that I get from other audiences when I ask this concern. From this comes some useful insights.
1) Notification what the list contains. All these characteristics connect to the human side of leadership. That’s interesting due to the fact that I frequently hear individuals decrease this side of leadership with terms like “soft” or “touchy feely.” In fact, using these attributes requires more strength than not.
2) Notice exactly what the list excludes. Absent from this list (and all lists from other programs) are characteristics such as stern, indicate, severe, brief tempered, vindictive, tough, mad, severe, punitive, managing, violent, or callous. Which’s fascinating because lots of popular representations of leadership emphasize a minimum of among these “difficult” characteristics. In fact, these qualities are the refuge of those who do not have the strength (or the abilities) to apply the human side of leadership.
3) How about you? How would you rank yourself as a leader compared to the list of positive qualities? If you were to survey individuals who report to you, how would they explain your leadership? Would they list qualities from the “soft” list or from the “hard” list? Could you become more effective by surpassing any of the “soft” characteristics? And how about the other leaders in your organization? Do they really take full advantage of human potential?
Individuals want leaders who treat them with real compassion, courtesy, and respect. They want leaders who assist them end up being more effective. They desire leaders who influence them with a vision for a much better world and show them the best ways to go there.
