The Basics of Leadership

There is much debate, theory and confusing jargon surrounding the issue of leadership. What is it? Who does it? How to do it well? If you are only a newly promoted team leader then there is only a few things you need to know to start leading and take control.

When you first get promoted and are put in charge of the performance of a team you become a leader. But nothing inside you has changed to make you a different person ready for this role. In fact, it will probably take you over a year to get used to your new role and start to really get the best out of your team.

You’re a leader because your team put you there and treat you like one, if you lose their support you have no other power left.

It may seem weird but when you become a leader your power actually reduces. As a team member you have the power to put in more effort and do a better job to increase your performance. When you are a leader you’re responsible for the performance of a group and the group ultimately decides your performance. They choose whether to act or not and how much effort they will put in.

When you become a leader your power may go down but you have gained influence with your team. Your team looks to you and what you say and do  and adjust their behavior based on that.

The result is that you use your behavior  to influence the behavior of the people in your team to achieve your goal.

Achieving your goal is not your only role as a leader. Caring for your team and looking out for them is also a big part of leadership, you rely on them so you should also look out for them.

It can be possible to achieve short term results without caring for your teams well being. But in the long term your success will be worse as team moral and other issues cause your people to work at a minimum standard.

Overall you can measure your leadership based on those two criteria. Did we reach our goal? Is my team better off because of it?

Source Leadership Quotes

The Heart of A Leader!

When you think of leadership what comes to mind? You can ask a hundred people and get a thousand different answers.  Some of the quotes gathered here will allow you to look at the heart of a leader and provide an overview of how only true leaders lead from a place of love and admiration.

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." - Peter F. Drucker

"If you don't understand that you work for your mislabeled 'subordinates,' then you know nothing of leadership. You know only tyranny." - Dee Hock

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say 'we did it ourselves.'" - Lao Tzu

"The led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their own leader." - Albert Einstein

"The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why." - Warren Bennis

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you." - Max DePree

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams

"The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist." - Eric Hoffer

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

"Lead and inspire people. Don't try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be lead." - Ross Perot

"Those who try to lead the people can only do so by following the mob." - Oscar Wilde

"All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership." - John Kenneth Galbraith

"Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions."- Harold S. Geneen

"Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them." - John Maxwell

"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision."-Theodore Hesburgh

"The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority." - Kenneth Blanchard

"Leaders conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations and unite them in pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts." - John Gardner

"Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The ability to summon positive emotions during periods of intense stress lies at the heart of effective leadership." - Jim Loehr

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." - General George Patton

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." - Bill Gates

"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy." - Norman Schwarzkopf

I'm sad to report that in the past few years, ever since uncertainty became our insistent 21st century companion, leadership has taken a great leap backwards to the familiar territory of command and control." - Margaret Wheatley

"The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." - Harvey S. Firestone

"One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." - Arnold Glasow

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." - Ralph Nader

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head. That's assault, not leadership." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out." - Stephen Covey

"No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings." - Peter Drucker

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A leader is a dealer in hope." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"To be able to lead others, a man must be willing to go forward alone." - Harry Truman

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing." - Albert Schweitzer

"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert." - Theodore Roosevelt

Leadership DNA

What’s your definition of Leadership? In thinking about the comments I’ve received from readers on the topic of leadership I noticed an interesting paradox…while many of you vehemently disagree on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of different leadership styles, most of you are in total agreement on the qualities and attributes possessed by great leaders regardless of style. In further pondering this dichotomy an interesting thought came to mind – If I could genetically engineer the perfect leadership gene what qualities and characteristics would constitute the architecture of leadership DNA? In today’s blog post I’ll attempt to paint the portrait of the perfect leader…

So, what traits would my perfect leader possess? Courage, character, vision, wisdom, integrity, empathy, persistence, compassion, aggressivity, discernment, commitment, confidence, a bias to action, a servant’s heart, determination, creativity, self-discipline, love, loyalty, confidence, outstanding decisioning ability, engaged, authentic, transparent, a great strategic thinker, passion, a positive attitude, intelligence, humility, great communication skills, common sense, generosity, the ability to identify and develop great talent, creating a certainty of execution, attention to detail, faith, an active listener, a prolific learner, respect for others, innovative, excellent tactical capability, charisma, extreme focus, a high risk tolerance, a broad range of competencies, and the list goes on…

If any of you possess all the above attributes please forward your resume to my attention! All kidding aside, the longer my list of desirable qualities became, the more I realized the frivolity of this exercise…There is no perfect leader; only the right leader for a given situation. As I’ve said in other posts, great leaders have the innate ability to call on the right skills in a contextually and environmentally appropriate fashion. No single leader can possess every needed attribute. It not the traits you possess as a leader, but what you do with them that matter. If I were successful in my genetic engineering exercise I would no doubt have created a leader who would be driven crazy by emotional and intellectual conflicts.

Leadership DNA aside, I recently crafted my definition of leadership. It contains what I believe to be the necessary qualities a leader must possess to be successful. While it’s a bit wordy, I’ve found it to inclusively articulate the principles needed for effective leadership :

“Leadership is the professed desire and commitment to serve others by subordinating personal interests to the needs of those being led through effectively demonstrating the experience, wisdom and discernment necessary to leverage trust & influence to cause the right things, to happen for the right reasons, at the right times.”

Since one of the leadership qualities I noted in the laundry list above is wisdom, I thought I’d leave you with the wisdom of others…Spend a few minutes pondering the quotes below as you consider some of the qualities which play into the make-up of great leaders:

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
- Abraham Lincoln

“There can be no power without mystery. There must always be a ‘something’ which others cannot altogether fathom, which puzzles them, stirs them, and rivets their attention…. Nothing more enhances authority than silence. It is the crowning virtue of the strong, the refuge of the weak, the modesty of the proud, the pride of the humble, the prudence of the wise, and the sense of fools.”
- Charles de Gaulle

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”
- Albert Einstein

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”
- Stephen R. Covey

“It’s not the will to win that matters…everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
- Paul “Bear” Bryant

“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”
- Lee Iacocca

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”
- Willa A. Foster

“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”
- John Wayne

“The true leader serves. Serves people. Serves their best interests, and in doing so will not always be popular, may not always impress. But because true leaders are motivated by loving concern than a desire for personal glory, they are willing to pay the price.”
- Eugene B. Habecker

“Doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results, is the definition of crazy.”
- Unknown

“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.”
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.”
- John Scully

“The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.”
- Woodrow Wilson

“Even if you’re on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
- Will Rogers

“When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I’ll like it or not. Disagreement, at this state, stimulates me. But once a decision is made, the debate ends. From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own.”
- General Colin Powell

“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”
- Dale Carnegie

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
- Helen Keller

“Let no pleasure tempt thee, no profit allure thee, no persuasion move thee, to do anything which thou knowest to be evil; so shalt thou always live jollity; for a good conscience is a continual Christmas.”
- Benjamin Franklin

“A person who is fundamentally honest doesn’t need a code of ethics. The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount are all the ethical code anybody needs.”
- Harry S. Truman

Please comment below sharing your thoughts and insights on what you believe defines great leadership.

Source Mike Myatt

Team Building to Improve Efficiency

by yewenyi

Team Building to Improve Efficiency

There is no doubt about it; Team building certainly does improve efficiency in the workplace. Very often people from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds find it difficult to work together. They are under the pressures of their work and do not then have the time to find out just where the other person is coming from or what makes them tick.

It's like working with strangers all the time - people you are not quite sure you can trust and you don't empathize with. But once Team Building Activities begin you are able to relate to those people in a different way. Team Building Games help people to see each other in a different light – in a social atmosphere rather than just in the workplace.

Team building events place people on the same team so that they begin to see each other as team mates who must pull together to win. This feeling then spills over into their working relationships and their workplace. Suddenly they start to work together as a team rather than several different entities that just happen to work for the same company.

This is particularly so with adventure team building because there is nothing like having an adventure to meld people together. There are now many Corporate Team building events that employees can be booked into, from paintball to table tennis and from ten-pin bowling to caving. Melbourne team building can help many companies with their team building efforts.

If you are based in Sydney and looking for some ways to help your employees into higher creativity, Team building in Sydney have many solutions. Likewise, team building in Canberra may have just the right games, events and simulations to ensure your team building efforts not only build teams but that those teams have fun while they are learning to work together to achieve their goals.

Source Team Building Articles