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How to be a Real Leader Bottom of Form

Guest post by: Dr Shailesh Thaker

Article Overview: If leadership is so important, why are effective business leaders so rare? Kevin Cashman, a Minneapolis-based leadership coach, thinks that he has the answer: “Too many people separate the act of leadership from the leader. They see leadership as something that they do - rather than as an expression of who they are.”

How to be a Real Leader Bottom of Form



Cashman is the founder and CEO of LeaderSource, which has helped executives from companies such as Pillsbury, American Express, and Rollerblade to explore what it means to lead. His flagship program, the Executive Leadership Institute, has been dubbed “the Mayo Clinic f Leadership.” Why do leaders come to Cashman for a checkup? “Leaders lead by virtue of who they are,” he replies. “If we want to be more effective with others, we first need to be more effective with ourselves.”

Cashman’s most recent book, Leadership from the Inside Out (Executive Excellence Publishing, 1998), distills his insights about becoming a real leader. In an interview, he distilled his thoughts even further.

What does an effective leader look like?

There are three core qualities to leadership: authenticity, self-expression, value creation. “Authenticity” refers to a link between the inner and the outer person. Truly authentic leaders are open both to their gifts and to their underdeveloped qualities. People who understand who they are tend to have a more powerful voice — and to make a more profound contribution to an enterprise.

We do a lot of work with Pillsbury. The current CEO, Paul Walsh, came to the job from finance. He had none of the marketing experience that’s so critical to running a consumer-products company. The first thing he did was to admit to that knowledge gap; he then created a plan to learn everything he could about marketing. Because he was so open, people enthusiastically helped him.

What separates authentic leaders from the rest of the pack?

Most of us know more about our favorite sports team or vacation spot than we know about ourselves. Leadership comes from one of two places: persona or character. Persona is the coping part of our personality — a mask that we create to protect ourselves from external stresses and internal fears. Character is the essence of who we are; it goes beyond what we do. It’s critical to spot the cues that signal when you’re in character and when you’re relying on a persona: Under what circumstances do you tend to get stuck? When do you overreact? When does everything come together and flow? The second attribute of leadership is self-expression.

Does that mean “straight talk”? It means something more than straight talk. How often have you held back from saying something that you felt was important — just because you were worried about how you would express yourself? How often have you feigned modesty about something that you were really proud of? Authentic expression goes beyond telling the truth: It demonstrates a total congruence between who you are and what you do and say.

Leaders are measured by results. How does authentic expression translate into value creation? Leaders create value through relationships. But many leaders still have the illusion that they are the ones who really “make things happen.” Admitting that you don’t have all the answers is a big part of building good relationships — and a big part of getting good results

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Article Tags: 2008, Author Dr Shailesh Thaker, September 22nd



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Re: November 17 Triple Crown Update - Thanks, GT. Also, thanks for the reminder about making sure that when we post, it's meaningful and adds to the conversation. Lately I've been seeing a lot of new members who are only posting very general, short posts that don't add much if any value to the discussions. Is there perhaps a way we can get these members to add more value to their posts than what they currently contribute? It's borderline spam, in my opinion. The race to the top for Form Posting is still anyone's game. There's still plenty of time to push past me... lol. Good luck, everyone!
Blank text field might be better - Hi TheAnonymousMan, I like your idea! I'm assuming it would be similar to the status feature on Facebook where it might say "Kevin is ... " So I think having a blank text field in the profile box (and even "Leader" boxes on the left and top side of the forums if possible) might be more fun than just choosing from pre-set options from a drop down menu:D


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