I’ve pondered this question for more hours than I can count and have discovered there is no absolute answer. Dr. Bernard Bass, distinguished professor emeritus in organizational behavior at the State University of New York, suggests that there are three ways to explain how people become leaders.

Before we proceed further, let’s make sure again that we understand the definition of leadership. Leadership is the process by which one person influences another to accomplish a mission, an objective, or a task.  Although your position or title as supervisor, manager, lead, etc., gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives, this power does not make you a leader; it simply makes you the boss.  That said, how do we become leaders?

• Some inherent personality traits may cause some people to develop into natural leaders. This is called the Trait Theory. So there may be a few folks who were born with the leadership gene. I want to emphasize that we are not talking about large numbers here!

• A second theory suggests that a crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion.  This is called the Great Events Theory. We have seen these folks throughout history—Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and, most recently, the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Gulianni, to name a few.  The number of leaders who fall into this category is also very small.

• Last, but not least, people can choose to become leaders.  People can learn leadership skills.  This is called the Transformational Leadership Theory.  This is the most widely accepted theory today, and it's great news for the masses of people who want to become effective leaders.

• Seek continual self-improvement. This means that you continually strengthen your leadership skills through self-study, reading, classes, etc.  Leadership is a lifelong journey, not a destination.  Even old dogs like me can learn new tricks!

• Communicate the mission, goals, and objectives.  Not only do employees need to know the direction of the company and your department, they also need to know how they individually contribute to achieving the mission and objectives. Employees want to follow someone who has a clear road map of where the leader is taking them. They also need to be informed as to how the company and their department are doing relative to achieving the objectives. Establishing, writing, and communicating a mission, goals, and objectives is a skill that can be learned. I’ll discuss how to write missions, goals, and objectives in a later article.

• Keep your people informed.  Keep them informed not only about how the organization is doing, but also about how they are performing individually against your objectives and standards. Know how to communicate with your team members, seniors, and other key people in the organization. In previous articles, we have discussed some key communication skills such as recognition and constructive criticism.  Use them frequently.

• Be technically proficient.  As a leader, you must not only know your job, but you must also have a solid familiarity with your employees' jobs.  Familiarity does not mean that you have to be an expert in all things. As a former tank commander in the Army, I was taught the tactics and strategy of the use of armor in combat.  When the tank required technical repairs, I called a maintenance technician to fix the problem.  I couldn’t complete the repair myself, but knew who to call and what needed to be fixed.

• Take responsibility for your actions. Continually look for ways to make your organization more efficient and productive.  Don’t accept the status quo.  When things go wrong, and they inevitably will, don’t blame others. As the great Paul “Bear” Bryant, football coach at the University of Alabama, said, “When we win, the players get the credit. When we lose, I take full responsibility.”  The Bear must have known something about leadership, because Alabama didn’t lose very often when he was coaching.

• Set the example.  It is imperative for a leader to be a role model others wish to follow. They must not only hear what you say, but also see you do it.  “Do as I say, but not as I do” ain’t gonna work if you want to be a leader. Also, never ask a subordinate to do what you are not willing to do yourself. You can’t require them to stay late, come in early, stick to an hour lunch, go the extra mile, and follow all the company rules if you violate them yourself. Two sets of standards won’t work!

• Know your people.  As I indicated in previous articles, we need to know our employees in more depth than simply their names with job titles.  We must get to know them as people who have their own aspirations and help them achieve their personal goals. We need to know what makes each person tick. Part of knowing our employees is looking out for their well-being. You need to create a mindset among your team where they believe that you sincerely care about them as individuals.

• Build teamwork.  Notice I didn’t say build a team.  A team is nothing more than a group of people assigned to work together to accomplish a particular task or objective. The formation of a team is an exercise in intellect.  Teamwork is the actual accomplishment of the task or objective through a cooperative effort of the team members as a result of a bonding among the members.  Teamwork, then, is an exercise based on emotion or spirit.  A reality of war is that soldiers don’t fight for abstract, philosophical, ideological, or political causes such as freedom or democracy.  They fight for the person in the next foxhole.  They fight to keep each other alive.  I speak from experience.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate!  Remember what we have discussed previously?  The key to outstanding performance is based on the strength of the relationships you build with your employees. Without continual communication those relationships can’t be forged. Here are some communication tips that may be of some help:
  • The six most important words: “I admit I made a mistake.”
    
  • The five most important words: “You did a good job.”
    
  • The four most important words: “What is your opinion?”
    
  • The three most important words: “If you please.”
    
  • The two most important words: “Thank you.”
    
  • The one most important word: “We”
    
  • The one least important word: “I”

Work at it.  Become the leader that you know you can be.

For suggestions on more leadership topics you would like to see discussed in Krause's Korner, send an e-mail to jkrause@aflac.com.