Keys to Effective Leadership in Business
When speaking on leadership, so many typical conversations occur such as being responsible or educated, but the fact is that there are many people out there that are highly skilled and educated, responsible to the core and possess a high ethical and moral value system that cannot lead. It happens time and time again, a person of great skill in a company is promoted due to their exceptional results, only to fail as a manager or team leader. So there has to be more to leadership then these elements. After doing some research, these qualities are what I found often are common amongst leaders: Inspirational, good listening skills, ability to forecast, and courage to act.
Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. It is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve. It is about making other leaders and not followers. To do that, one must recognize the strengths in others and then nourish them. In projects that can allow for a little time and guidance, do not put your best man on the job. Put your second best man on the job and guide him to a number one performance. When you take others under your wing and nourish them to become leaders, you grow a team you can count on to make decision in your absence. This inspiration to be more then what one currently is not only builds self confidence in the individual, it builds investment in the company providing that leadership. An employee vested in the success of your company for personal reasons will perform at a much higher level then the one strictly motivated by the dollar amounts in his paycheck.
Get in there, roll up the sleeves and lead by example if deadlines are difficult or staff is short. There is nothing more inspiring to have your boss at your side sweating out the details rather then just expecting the results on his/her desk the next morning. This is not a new concept in the world of business and politics. Even John Quincy Adams stated, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." However to do this, to help others be even more then what they realize they are capable of you must have the second skill, good listening.
Active listening is one of those skills that's both surprisingly simple as well as surprisingly effective. It should include allowing others to make a point before interrupting, and valuing the opinions of others. In addition to improving your personal and professional relationships, listening also helps to prevent misunderstandings and facilitates cooperation. A great listening technique involves rephrasing the speaker's words and repeating them back to them. This shows that you are listening and are following them. Pay attention to what they are not saying as well as what they are. Sometimes a leader can pick up things to guide with by what the person is avoiding bringing up due to a lack of comfort in that particular subject area. Pay attention to the body language of the speaker. Does their posture show true intent or are they just speaking to hear themselves talk. When you respond, are their arms folded across their chest? This is a common defensive posture. There are many good books and seminars out there on communication skills, make sure to use one that includes active listening. One I recommend is Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead (J-B CCL (Center for Creative Leadership)) Without this skill, you are not truly hearing the needs of important people in your life or business team and therefore, cannot take appropriate action.
Again, this not a new idea or a new revelation to business and relationships. Epictetus from 55 - 135 AD is quoted as saying. "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." Unfortunately, the competitive nature often jumps into conversations and we become focused on winning a point or making ourselves heard and we lose the concept of open-minded and receptive. An important aspect of good communication as well as personal growth.
Another important aspect of leadership is the ability to forecast. On a larger scale, businesses are forced to look well ahead in order to plan their investments, launch new products, decide when to close or withdraw products and so on. Often, the financial well-being of the entire operation rely on the accuracy of the forecast since such information will likely be used to make interrelated budgetary and operative decisions in areas of personnel management, purchasing, marketing and advertising, capital financing, etc. What often gets overlooked is what will the employees need to meet the ever changing needs of the company. Is there training on new concepts that are needed. Is the time taken to educate the employees on the reasons for the change and the positive end results. One mistake often made in business is to throw change at employees with a 'just do it' mindset. However, if employees or even children for that matter, understand what is to be gained in the change and what the impact to them personally will be; they will be better able to manage the change and move forward in a positive manner.
One of the most important skills is the ability to make a decision, to take action. Often in today's world, untrained leaders are put into positions to make decisions they do not feel empowered to make. A leader forecasts the end results of a decision and makes it. It is often heard by frustrated employees, "will someone just make a decision." Leaders maked decisions and stand by them. If they make a mistake, they own them and learn from them then move on. By rolemodeling decision making, you teach others to do the same. Whereever possible, give people the power to make decisions and learn. Face it, most of us got our best learning experiences when we fell flat on our faces. By listening to what is going on and monitoring our teams, we can intervene before such mistakes our disasterous to the company over all. A mentor of mine is always saying - "trust but inspect." That is our role as a leader, to teach and inspire others to reach for the stars. As they reach, we guide their progress and help them analyze their results.
People do not have to be born leaders. They can learn to lead. Take the time to listen to those that are where you want to be. Forecast your decisions and possible end results before making decisions then look at who you need to achieve that path. Inspire others by being the person, the team player, that you want them to be. In other words, don't sit back and tell what is to be done, show what needs to be done. Roll up your sleeves and be willing to stand side by side on the sales floor, the copy room or even the mail room if there is a need and a shortage. Not only will it show your leadership skills and that you care for the team you lead, it will allow you to hear new ideas and spot problems quicker, it will allow you to find your future leaders as they step up beside you.
Cheryl Matthynssens
Wealth Masters International
Keys to Effective Leadership in Business - To learn more about this author, visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
![]() | |
| |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
|
| |
| |||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
![]() | |
![]()
| |
![]() | |
|
| |
![]() | |
|
| |
![]() | |||||||
|
Referred by: http://jaykubassek.com
![]() | ||
|
| ||
![]() |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
![]() |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
![]() |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
![]() |
|
|
![]() | ||
|
Top 50 Debt Blogs
Learn To Get Out Of Debt | ||
|
The Top 10 GTD Times Posts
Best Posts for Productivity | ||
![]() | ||
![]() | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|













Subscribe to Cheryl's articles











