HOW TO BE A GOOD LEADER
Being a leader may reap a larger paycheck or greater honor, but
the value of a true leader is the way he or she treats those
being led. A good leader considers it a sacred responsibility to
work with others in a way that each person feels like a valued
and contributing member of the team.
A good leader will:
- Provide a vision. Team spirit will evolve when everyone knows
what they are aiming for. Take every opportunity to
communicate the vision, making it ethical, simple, and
attainable. Make it inspire the heart.
- Communicate effectively and openly. Everything leaders say,
do, or write impacts their credibility. The impact is seen in
every verbal and non-verbal interaction. The effectiveness of
communication is measured by how well the team members
understand the leader's intent. (Words have much less impact
than other forms of communication. Meaning is derived 55%
from body language, 38% from tonality, 7% from words.)
- Facilitate others' learning. Facilitate means "to make easy."
If you facilitate, rather than instruct, you are
acknowledging the intelligence and worth of the individual.
This leadership characteristic creates a bond of trust,
understanding, and mutual respect. Facilitation encourages
two-way communication and promotes ownership in the success
of the project or product. People who are constantly being
told what to do stop listening and can become apathetic or
angry.
- Encourage problem-solving. This taps the creative spirit and
expands the mind. A good leader understands that it is better
to analyze and solve the situation at the level it occurs.
- Give adequate lead time. It honors the worker and creates an
environment for success. With adequate time, a person can ask
questions along the way, check for understanding, and do a
better job.
- Provide feedback. It is the tool for growth and is essential
for gaining trust. Corrective feedback, not negative or
critical analysis, is used for illumination and focuses on
behavior and improvements - avoiding assumptions and
judgments.
- Be decisive and courageous. People want to be led by leaders
who lead. When team members can respect their leader, they
will take direction enthusiastically.
- Encourage risk-taking. Because they trust their team, their
abilities, and their interests, leaders enable others to grow
by encouraging new ways of problem-solving. Set parameters
and boundaries, and serve as a coach to your team.
- Use humor. Good-natured humor is food for the soul. Humor is
used to uplift and never at another's expense. Humor is a
gentle reminder not to take ourselves so seriously.
- Celebrate accomplishments. Celebration marks a passage to the
next level of development, creation, innovation, and
achievement. It is another way to demonstrate your
appreciation to the people who made it happen. Celebration
sparks a sense of togetherness and community. It can mark the
end of a project, the launching of a new product or service,
or just the desire to celebrate working together as a team.
It can mark milestones, regain momentum, and encourage the
spirit.
- Confront issues. People respect leaders who are willing to
confront the uncomfortable. Leaders look to the positive
outcomes of conflict as a way for improvement, creativity,
inventiveness, and understanding, while always preserving
human dignity.
- Lead change. Leaders must embrace change, and model a
positive approach to change. They replace upheaval with
changes that make sense, and invite input for even better
strategies for success.
Excerpted from Spirited Leadership: 52 Ways to Build
Trust on the Job by Ellen Castro, copyright (c) 1998.
Used by permission of Thomas More, Allen, Texas,
1-800-527-5030.