5 THINGS I BELIEVE ABOUT LEADERSHIP

There are a myriad of characteristics attributed to great leaders in the literature on leadership. I’ve chosen five that are critical for everyone seeking to lead. Not fully appreciating or understanding the ramifications of not following these ideas can lead to misery for a leader. How do you rate and what is your current misery index?

1. Everyone is a leader. If one examines their life’s routines, it becomes easy to segment when leadership was part of the activity. Raising children? You’re a leader. Do you sometimes offer a helping hand to others in your workplace? You’re performing an important role of a leader. Ever undertake or oversee a work assignment in a professional or social organization? You guessed it, you were leading. The important concept is to see yourself as a leader whenever you are engaged in an activity that requires use of any leadership skill. Raise your antenna to pick up on those leadership opportunities. Constantly seek to increase your skill level and soon you may find yourself permanently performing that role.
2. People’s performance is a measure of our tolerance level. If you lead, think about the worst performer you have. Got that name and face in your mind? Well, let me break the news gently, that individual’s performance is what you are willing to tolerate. Some examples: An employee regularly comes in late. A worker doesn’t turn in their assignment within the agreed upon deadline. One worker has an excessive absentee record. Another worker consistently engages in personal confrontation with co-workers. If any of these examples happen and we take no corrective action, it’s what we are willing to tolerate. And, the bad news is if we accept this level of performance, the odds favor other workers cloning the behavior and soon we’ve got a department that is in total chaos.
3. Leadership is where the rubber meets the road. Every good or bad event within the workplace, the political arena or in a global context is in some way caused by good or bad leadership practices. Thus, great organizations will typically be lead by great leaders while poor performing organizations tend to be lead by weak leaders. What about your workplace? Is there a leadership deficit? Or, are the waters of leadership flowing throughout the organization creating a positive impact? If you approach your work responsibilities from the viewpoint of an effective leader, your growth opportunities are endless simply because it takes effective leadership to get the job done right. Yes, there are times when strong workers can cover for a weak leader but that is rare and not typical of workplace situations. Become a leader and watch your life change for the better.
4. Leaders understand that learning is a core requirement for creating a successful enterprise. While many will say knowledge is power, I say knowledge is only potential power. It’s the implementation of that knowledge that creates the kinetic power produced by action. Great leaders constantly challenge those under their charge to grow their knowledge base and then apply that learning to workplace activities. And, the greater the application of new knowledge, the greater the potential for organizational prosperity. If you lead, place that challenge in front of everyone under your supervision. Never let complacency overtake the work environment. Doing so allows the introduction of mediocrity, a surefire step down the ladder of failure.
5. Integrity is the cornerstone for building a solid foundation of leadership skills. If one lacks integrity, they lack the “guts” to do the things that must be done in order to grow their career, the organization, and those under their charge. We must be principled, dependable, and trustworthy; possess a sound moral character, and be consistent with our decisions. Never compromise the right thing for the wrong reason. Give your word and stand by it. Living with integrity requires a courageous stance when others might take the easy road. What are your travel plans?

Closing Thoughts

There is a tremendous void of great leaders in every segment of our society today. It saddens me to write that statement but my observations of the happenings in the world only reinforce that thought. My encouragement to you is to study the rudiments of leading others so you can be the best at carrying out that important task and become the shining example others strive to emulate. Then, hold yourself and others that can influence your life to the highest of leadership standards. There should be no tolerance for unethical behavior or for self-serving leaders. Leadership is truly about a willingness to serve others. I hope you are a willing servant!

EXPECTING EXCELLENCE - A KEY TO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

The idea of expecting excellence isn't new, nor is the premise that every leader should expect excellence from his or her team. But just like everything a leader says and does, it's not so much a matter of "what" he or she does as much as it is about "how" they do what they do.

There's a significant difference between establishing an environment where excellence is expected and one where excellence is demanded. In the first case, not only does the culture of the organization establish the expectations for excellence, but the actions of your entire team will essentially "put pressure" on everyone to perform up to the standards of excellence expected.

In the second case, where excellence is demanded, "pressure" from you is the only dynamic at play. And you know how most people react to direct pressure - they push back. And push-back usually comes in the form of either passive-aggressive behavior or by working just hard enough to keep from being fired.

So let's discuss how to go about establishing an environment where excellence is expected. There are two components to this equation. The first is defining what excellence means to you and your organization, and the second is the design of that environment.

How we define excellence is governed by the standards and values we embrace. Standards determine the level of quality we desire. They govern quality of service and quality of product. There are many levels of quality, and only you and your team can determine which level you want to be known for. Excellent quality does not necessarily mean the very best that can be produced. Let me offer a couple of real-world, practical examples. The first comes from the restaurant business and the other from the automotive industry.

If you go to a fast food restaurant, excellent service means delivering the customer's food within a very short time - typically 2-4 minutes. Much longer than that, and most customers will feel that the service is less than excellent. In contrast, if you dined in an expensive, gourmet restaurant and your food came out within 2-4 minutes, you'd no doubt feel rushed and consider the service to be poor.

The other example comes from the automobile industry. (I'm not promoting or judging any make of car here just offering an example that most everyone can relate to.) If every automobile were made to the very highest of standards, then there would be only Rolls Royce, Audi and Mercedes Benz. There would be no room for Chevrolet, Ford or Kia.

The appropriate level of quality that determines the standards by which you and your organization are governed is determined by the expectations of your market. This doesn't preclude setting a standard which exceeds the expectations of that market. It just acts as a benchmark by which your performance is measured.

The values which create an environment of excellence govern how we do what we do and are - for the most part - concerned with how we relate to others. Values that may immediately come to mind are integrity, honesty, respect, and fairness. However, there are many other possible values that you and your team may want to include on your list in order to elicit excellence. Here are some additional values to help you get started: Authenticity, Family, Kindness, Commitment, Loyalty, Compassion, Happiness, Empathy, Health, and Humor.

Once you have defined what excellence means to you and your organization by clearly setting an expected level of standards for performance along with the values which determine how you, your team and your organization carry out the work you do, you will be in a position to design an environment which elicits excellence.

Designing an environment which elicits excellence is about establishing an organizational "culture". A well-established culture will embody and reflect the standards and values you and your organization have agreed upon.

So… what constitutes "culture" and how do you establish it? Culture is established by how well you and your team live by and communicate the values and standards you've identified. It's not so much "whether" you and your team agree to these things, as it is about how consistently and to what degree these values and standards are adhered to. Doing this well will create the proper initial expectations with new team members, will install a sense of pride throughout the organizations, and will fill your organization with integrity - causing the majority of your team to act, think, and speak in a certain way.

Consistency in the effort is all important. The consequences are unfortunate if you and your team profess to embrace and embody a certain culture, but live by it in an inconsistent manner, tolerate behaviors by others which are at odds with the culture, or worse, act in a manner at odds with the so-called "culture". There is nothing more demoralizing than someone hearing about and believing in a certain culture, only to see a leader speak and act in an inconsistent manner. It absolutely undermines the integrity of the leader and the organization as a whole.

The bottom line is that demanding excellence of your team will only produce modest and inconsistent results. Alternatively, putting in the effort up front to design, implement, and live by a culture of excellence will produce long-term, self-sustaining results.