Should You Be Making Managers Into Leaders?
Employee motivation, Leadership, Management No Comments »Should you be making managers into leaders? That’s a trickier question than you might think. At face value, it seems like an obviously good idea. Things get more complicated when you look a little closer.
That’s because there is an inherent risk in trying to facilitate the transition. If you have good managers, it’s obviously tempting to try to tap their potential leadership skills. What happens if doing so starts to detract from their managerial skills and emphasis, though?
Are you better off with a distracted manager who’s trying to develop leadership skills or would you be in a superior position with a focused manager who’s not all that concerned with becoming a proactive force for leadership?
Remember how Tom Sawyer convinced all those other kids to paint the fence he was supposed to paint? He made wise use of other people’s skills.
One of the secrets to success in life is making use of the fact that others can contribute to your success with their diverse interests, skills and talents.
There are things you do better than other people; these skills and talents are what you do naturally. Your joy, satisfaction, and meaning in life come as the result of opportunities to do these things. The more you focus on activities that draw on these skills and talents, the better you will perform and the more success you’ll have in life.
Some people will tell you, if you ask them, that they think leadership is deciding on a plan of action and sticking to it, no matter what. Others will tell you it means taking charge of a situation and then handing out tasks so everything gets done right and by the set deadline.
What if that’s not leadership? What if leadership is less about handing out orders and sticking by a plan whether or not it works and more about working with people to mentor them and help them find their own path. I would argue that defining a leader today is much different than it was 5 or 10 years ago. In fact, I would say that inspiration is the biggest thing you contribute to a company or even a person when you become a leader.
While leaders are made, most are born. That sounds odd, doesn’t it? Well, the truth is we can’t all be leaders and not everyone wants to be a leader.
One of the biggest business buzzwords today is engagement.
Everyone suddenly seems to have realized that we need to have employees who are engaged in their work. It seems to be the latest “holy grail” in leadership and management circles (teams, lean and total quality are just three past examples).
Like the other examples, creating and nurturing engaged employees is important and will make a difference both for the individuals and the organization. I believe in the importance of engagement and the value of engaged employees. And I believe leaders can make a big difference in this area.
And, if these are my beliefs, you may be wondering why I opened on a bit of a cynical note?
Everyone I know loves the feeling that comes with being inspired. They like the mental lift, the energy, the attitude, the productivity, the satisfaction and even the way it makes them feel physically.
And as wonderful and valuable as inspiration is, for most of us, it’s hard to capture, expand and make last. We want the eternal flame, but far too often settle for a spark as fleeting as the flame provided by a match.
There are predictable ways you can extend the life of your inspirational flame. When you learn these ways, they become important to not just you, but also those you care about, interact with and lead. As you begin to apply these ideas in your life you can help others be inspired and internally motivated as well.
In short, these keys will help you transform your spark into an exciting, lifelong, raging bonfire.
There are no limits to the expectations of people from their leader. The leaders are always expected to be better than the rest and make fair and effective decisions every single time. Most of the times, the leaders manage to fulfill these expectations, but in the few times that they don’t, they have to face a lot of flack.
The qualities of the leader are then forgotten and all that is remembered are the vices. In order to save themselves from such situation, the leaders opt for a friendly approach. This friendly approach does manage to make the followers take the leader more lightly, but this approach does not always bear fruit.
Leaders are often faced with overwhelming tasks that seem like trying to eat an elephant. The SECRET to leadership success in those instances is to apply “Kaizen” with “The Law of the Slight Edge!”
“Kaizen” is a Japanese term that means the process of continuous, ongoing, small, steady incremental improvements. It’s the magic of taking something good and making it great. “The Law of the Slight Edge” is: You don’t have to be twice as good to be twice as successful. All it takes to gain the edge is to improve just 1% in many areas (maybe even 100) rather than to try to improve 100% in just one area. Smart leaders approach challenges that way.
The Showing, Helpful Manager Vs the Abdicating Manager
Business Management, Employee motivation, Leadership No Comments »<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:204104722; mso-list-template-ids:-1343059274;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:?; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} –> Managerial Challenge: figuring out how to lead/manage individuals and team.The key: Be consistent by consistently alternating your leader style, as it is appropriate to the individual or team.
The model: The golfer who chooses the right club for the right situation. And even if she chooses the best club her shot does not always land where she had planned. The successful golfer adjusts to bad shots. The competent manager adjusts to the variances in people’s behaviours.
The Inspiring Leader - Top 10 Language Tips to Inspire Others
Business Management, Employee motivation, Leadership, Management No Comments »The 21st century is the age in which it takes combined efforts in the form of a team to accomplish goals that are so challenging and hard to accomplish. Great leaders are great because of team efforts. These leaders have been achieving great results on the basis of the fact that they are team builders. Their success lies in teamwork.
Let me share with you 11 ways that you must follow to be an effective team builder.
1. You must choose the right players
Leadership and Development - Leadership Characteristics - The Law of Authenticity
Employee motivation, Leadership No Comments »“The Law of Authenticity”
Here is part four of this principles of success series with another online success tip. Today I am going the fourth of the five principles of success. Number four is the law of authenticity.
The most valuable gift you have to give anyone is yourself.
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