The formula is simple and the outcome is predictable. Treat people with respect and they will generally return the courtesy many times over. The word “respect” just might work as the lone word in the world’s shortest chapter in the world’s shortest and most effective book on leadership. Master the term, practice it liberally and you’ve uncovered one of the simple secrets to leading effectively.
Just in time for a long holiday weekend, Dan McCarthy is hosting the always exciting and often inspiring Leadership Development Carnival at his home blogging base at Great Leadership. Aside from the way over the top kind words that he has for me and this blog (Thanks, Dan!), he's put together a collection of phenomenal essays from some really great writers and authorities in the world of leadership and business.
There are few skills that will take you further and help you more than developing your speaking skills. Your writing skills are a close second. While you can hide and some people do get away with dodging the speaking bullet, I’m not sure why you would want to. The fear is overblown.
Self-confidence is rocket fuel for leaders. Used carefully and ignited under the proper conditions, it propels you and those around you to remarkable heights. However, beware the narrow tolerance ranges of your own self-confidence.
I talk with a great number of leaders at various levels and stages of their careers about their own experiences in “becoming a leader,” and I’m constantly fascinated by their start-up stories. Fascinated, that is, the way many drive past a car wreck. Shocked and curious at the same time.
My own personal observation is that the Baldrige National Quality Program is one of the most misunderstood, unknown and poorly marketed great programs for organizations seeking a framework for business performance improvement. You owe it to yourself and your organization to become familiar with the program and the many great low and no-cost tools available to help you improve your business.
When it comes to leadership development, sweeping corporate mandates and expensive training initiatives are rarely as effective as consistent blocking and tackling. Here are some action-focused ideas to help catalyze a leadership development revolution in your firm.
With school starting back up in most parts of the country during the next few weeks, now would be a good time to reach out to that teacher from 20 or 30 years ago and let them know that they made a difference. Catch them before they move off into retirement. I believe my former favorite teach just recently retired, and now I’m stuck trying to look him up, when I had almost 30 years to drop him a note at school. Talk about procrastination!
While I wouldn’t counsel you to seek out and work for a b@st@rd as part of your formal mentoring experience, given the ratio of these characters to good leaders in the workplace, chances are you’ll trip across one or more in your career. When you do, take in the experience as a powerful education in how not to lead.
Imagine a corporate world where those being led had a strong vote on whether their leaders lived to lead or were shown the door. This happened recently at the newly combined Fiat-Chrysler, and the question that was asked of low and mid level staffers was: “What do you think of your boss?”
