A successful leader is a team player who realizes and utilizes their full potential and that of their team. The successful leader in today’s global world incorporates basic “people skills” into their management style. They recognize the efforts of their team. They compliment and thank them for a job well done. This alone motivates any employee to work harder and smarter. The successful leader ensures their staff is clear and buys into the corporate vision and mission. They provide guidance, support, encouragement and motivation to every team member.

More importantly they show respect for themselves, the company and each member of their team. They create an environment where people can learn, grow and have ample opportunities for success.

The following are 5 steps will help every leader achieve success.

1. Inspire Others

Excite and inspire people to perform to their full potential. Successful leaders help their people to feel stronger, happier, confident and more committed.

2. Delegate Responsibility

Delegate high levels of responsibility for results. Successful leaders pick the right people, match them to the right jobs, achieve mutual clarity on the desired results and let them do their job. They leave the individual with maximum freedom to perform.

3. Let People Do Their Work

Allow people to do what they have to do. Do not  micro manage your team. It creates stress, a negative working environment and actually decreases employee performance. No one likes someone watching over their shoulder, commenting at every thing they do. Move away and let your staff breathe, grow and achieve success!

In recent studies when people were asked to describe their best bosses. Respondents said the following:  “He/she believed in me and showed appreciation,” “He/she was a team player and got right in their and helped out” He/she left me alone and had faith in me to do my job well ” and  “He/she  gave me complete freedom to do the job.”

4.Provide Freedom and Empowerment opportunities

People feel liberated and empowered when they are entrusted with a major responsibility and the freedom to fulfill it. The formula is simple. Match the right/best person with the right job and you have created the conditions for exceptional performance and success.

5.Expect Success

Radiate an attitude of confident expectations. Even if you have personal doubts, don’t let them show. Successful leaders set the psychological tone for the entire organization. They project a positive attitude no matter how distressing the external situation may appear. They are in complete control of themselves and their emotions. This is the role of leadership.

By putting these five steps into action, you’ll be amazed at the immediate results you get from your staff. You’ll see a more energized happier staff with more smiles, more good mornings, more positive energy, and increased job satisfaction. Now that’s a formula for personal and professional success!

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.~~~John Quincy Adams

For over 10 years, Carol Giannantonio has helped individuals positively transform their lives and careers through her unique coaching and goals setting process. Carol’s knowledge of and passion for coaching combined with her compassion and wisdom provide her clients with an enriching coaching experience. Her clients quickly see an improvement in their performance, experience positive changes in their overall quality of life and learn new and improved ways of thinking that allow them to reach their full potential. Carol is a Life Coach and Educator who specializes in helping people clarify what’s really important to them and supports them in having a life they want and love. Her guiding principle is, “Go The Distance to Reach Your Dreams. Please visit her Web site http://www.carolgcoach.com and sign up for a free consultation, her newsletter, daily quotes and much more. Contact her at ]  [mailto:carolgcoach@aol.com]carolgcoach@aol.com for a truly unique coaching experience.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carol_Giannantonio http://EzineArticles.com/?Secrets-of-Successful-Leaders&id=1213829

Tags: success,, leader,, leaders,, successful,, leadership,, how, to, be, a, leader,, how, to, be, successful

Wisdom is a key ingredient that young leaders would need in many challenging situations to get them through.  It is a skill that nobody can teach in school but it can be learned through self-help books, lessons of others, great leaders and from people with wisdom.

Wisdom is the ability to judge or discern what is true, lasting or right insight.  It simply is common sense or good judgement based on accumulated knowledge, experience and learning through the ages that translates into understanding and enlightenment.

“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.”  Sandra Carey quotes

As important as it is to have wisdom in life, so it is in being an effective leader.   I have seen in the last 20 years in the corporate world how many young leaders have triggered so much unhappiness in the workforce that led to endless turnover.   When leaders do not have the foresight or necessary wisdom, they tend to behave in a rash manner and take actions that are often based on ego or personal agenda.  In the long run, it is disruptive to the work environment and highly unproductive.  Do not allow your lack of wisdom to create disharmony for fellow colleagues or business associates.

How to achieve wisdom?  Is is even achievable?

Wisdom can be achieved when you have the awareness and the humility to accept that your youth has its limitations.  However if you are leading a team, you have a responsibility to develop good habits of thought that provoke reflective thinking.  Learn from great thinkers and leaders on their life’s lessons and the wisdoms they got out of them.

In his book, “The Essence of Wisdom”, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso said:

“Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need. So long as we practise these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy”.

For the youth of today, taking leadership role is a challenge when it comes to dealing with senior subordinates.  There usually is a gap in understanding, where the young leaders may be forward thinking and ambitious, the senior subordinates may be more cautious and conservative.   Learn to respect the wisdom of your team, for they may have come from  hard knocks of life  and experiences. Never treat with disdain the value of wisdom from older people.  Always seek to understand and appreciate others’ views even though  that contradict with yours.

Allow me to share this famous and powerful prayer, called Serenity Prayer:

“God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Wisdom in leadership cannot be acquired overnight, however it can be cultivated through some hard listening and reflecting.  You know you have acquired wisdom when you are ready to apply life’s lessons and grow.

Tags: leadership, skill,, , leadership, qualities,, business, leadership,, leadership, development

If there is one thing that we can choose in life, it is our character. As a leader or would-be leader, you can say you have integrity but your action really speaks louder than your words. When you are at the top, you need to make a lot choices. Each time a decision is made, your character is shaped. You are challenged with a situation - do you bend the truth or do you stand up to it? Do you take the easy way out or do you pay the price? The decisions that you make create who you are and what you stand for. This is critical if you want to become a leader worth your salt.

Who do you want to be? In a corporate world, there are constant challenges that will demand that you make the right choice. What is the right choice to you will depend on your level of integrity.

I have encountered in real-life, a man in a very high position who sneakily tapped into the email system and read employees’ emails to discover what people are saying about him. He lacked the character to know right from wrong. His insecurities choked him. To me all my respect for his brilliant mind came to nothing after this incidence. And that goes for the IT Manager who discovered it.

According to the author of “The Success Syndrome”, Steven Berglas, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, highly talented people at the top who lack the solid character to sustain them through the stress are heading for disaster. He believes that they are destined for one or more of : aloneness, arrogance, destructive adventure-seeking or adultery.

This description is totally fitting for the leader as mentioned above. He was a middle-aged single man, extremely arrogant and lonely. Do not fall into similar trap. Be mindful if you get to a point when you think it is enough to dynamic and profitable, exercise some soul-searching.

“Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character” says author John C.Maxwell who wrote “The 21 Indispensable Qualities Of A Leader”. What this means to me is that, in the above circumstance, the leader did not have the fundamentals to begin with. He was not equipped to deal with the stress and therefore succumbed to temptations. And it was not the only time and only situation.

To improve your character, search for the cracks where you might have let people down or compromised. Begin to look for patterns and identify areas of weakness. Start rebuilding your character by facing the music, by admitting your flaws,only then you can move forward. Apologizing is not beneath any leaders of high calibre.

The choice is yours really. Fundamentally it is unimportant that you have dynamism and drive, if you do not stand on solid character foundation. Integrity and character is what will save you in challenging situations

Tags: leadership, skill,, business, leadership,, , leadership, management, training

Through observations of the years that I spent working in the ad industry as well as the related industry such as the media, there is especially a high influx of foreign talents. Many people of many races have come and have gone, new ones would come to replace. A majority come from Australia, UK, USA, India, Europe , China, HK, the Philippines. They come in to fill positions of considerable seniority.

Interestingly, I noticed that at the surface, while the new leaders embrace the company system and policies, at the heart of it, their own work belief systems would normally take precedence, operationally. What happens next is the inevitable change in system, yet again.

The challenge for the new leaders really is to meet the standards and expectations of the work culture of that country, this means to understand what is the best approach to working with the locals. Otherwise you can expect a mass walk-out and this has happened too many times in the last 20 years in the Asian ad industry.

We are limited but we can push back the borders of our limitations. –Stephen R. Covey

A leader of high calibre is one who is able to see the larger picture. That it is not about him that the company exists or how it should be run. That a company does not operate by itself but is run by a team of people, and if this is a multi-race environment, it becomes even more critical for a leader to manage expectations. I have noticed that, not all but some, have the arrogance to import their work belief system from their country and think that their system is the right one. With arrogance, the prejudices against race will usually surface as well.

If you come from a work system that is hierarchical, that is one which is rigid and where roles are compartmentalized, and where freedom to question is discouraged, it would be damaging for yourself as well as for the employees if you remain arrogant and think that you are the king of the mountain. It would not be long before good talented people will start to resign and work for the competitors. That cannot be good for any company. In a situation of a mass walk-out, that leadership would normally be removed by the higher management to avoid crippling the operation. Wouldn’t that be a humbling experience.

An effective leader is able to recognize that each person is an individual with different values and beliefs. The challenge then is to identify and consider these difference when deciding on a course of action. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and create positive influence on the individuals.

And in return the people will give full support and respect to the leader. Build this basic foundation and success shall come because people will remain your greatest resources, and they are worthy of respect and understanding.

Tags: leadership, skill,, leadership, development,, corporate, leadership

Abraham Lincoln said, “It’s surprising how much you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit”. How often have you come across juniors coming to you glorifying their achievements and like a little puppy, await for that celebration of praises.

Well they are juniors and they are young and lacking in wisdom. Leaders are supposed to be made of greater element. I have however observed a fair number of group leaders in the few places that I worked in, behaving just like that.

They were smart and highly trained in their jobs. And yet sometimes even senior people lack the wisdom to step outside themselves and not behave like the juniors. There were many times in group head meetings,headed by the CEO, where the group leaders would spring into action. It was a non-spoken corporate culture that if you had nothing to say, then surely you had nothing to show for. There was a particular woman who would always have something to say, which always would point to her “achievements”.

If an idea is sought for on how to do things better, she would be the first to speak, usually giving herself as the good prime example of how well her team was run and therefore the answer to the question would be to emulate her style. She hungered for the credits. A true leader would need a huge level of sensitivity to his/her environment and has a special knack to pick up the frequency.

The effect of that is her group eventually broke up, because no one respected her. Some left and few asked to be transferred out. It was always about her and her position in the agency. She demanded respect and credits, even if it was her juniors’ achievements. A good leader would accord credits to her team even if it was hers alone. The success of her team is her success. That is what she failed to see. Let’s not get hung up on getting praised. It’s a reflection of how little you feel inside.

People are generally okay, it’s only their behavior that’s a problem.

Ken Blanchard, author of “One Minute Manager” made a profound statement,” If God wanted us to talk more than listen, He would have given us two mouths rather than two ears”.

As a leader or would-be leader, it would serve you well to be mindful that there is no such thing as personal achievement when you have a team of people who help you achieve it. Step outside yourself constantly and check in the mirrors regularly. It takes more than just a sharp mind or skill to become an effective leader in a workplace. Your job is to listen more than to talk because only then you can give better advice and solution.

Tags: leadership, skill,, business, leadership,, leadership, development

I have discovered , after 20 years of working in the corporate advertising industry, and having worked with many leaders, that the key to true leadership is in the art of influence and that begins with the heart of a leader. It becomes even more critical when you get to the top, you need to exercise a great deal of skills to manage your team leaders. If you demonstrate a lack of integrity or honesty, this will have an effect down the line.

According to the author of The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard, the best way to achieve high performance and remarkable results is with a caring “business heart” and that influence is an art.

What this means is, a true leader has the ability and courage to change and help people reach their potential, through encouragement and inspiration.

In one MNC agency that I used to work in, there was a CEO who had problems managing his anger. He would lose it every now and then, and when that happened, the entire agency would hear it. Imagine if there was a major problem with a client and the shits had hit the fan, you’d better run. He was not the most brilliant leader or strategist. He did not have the greatest management skills. But you know, while there were many people who left the agency, there were even more who had stayed with him for a long time. Why?

Because the man had a heart of gold. He was admired despite it all. He had many things going as a leader - like his business and personal integrity. He would admit to his staff of his problem managing his anger and he was seeking help. His passion for the business and clients was the reason for his outbursts, when staff underdelivered or did not do what they were supposed to do. It is not a crime when the boss lost it only because he had that much passion for the survival of his company that which in turn saved people’s jobs. What people on the outside would not know was his sense of compassion for fellow human being.

He would not hesitate to give a personal loan to the delivery guy in need of cash; he took the time to ask the office cleaner how her kids were doing in school; he rewarded the staff well when they delivered the goods. This in turn motivated people to work harder and stayed. I suppose fundamentally his heart was in the right place. At the core he was a humble man who was aware of his weaknesses but had the courage to admit it and he focussed on building on his strengths. I am inspired by the book he gave me and that is, “The Heart Of A Leader” by Ken Blanchard. He himself was inspired by it.

There is a saying by Ichek Adizes, “Managing only for profit is like playing tennis with your eye on the scoreboard and not on the ball”. This means that for an organization to be successful, the focus should not just be on financial success but also on customers and employees. Without them, your financial success will eventually decline.

Another powerful saying by Ken Blanchard and Normal Vincent Peale, ” People with humility don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less”. If you think more about your people, and they will think more of themselves.

Tags: leadership, skill,, types, of, leadership,, charismatic, leadership

There are seven (7) primary characteristics of leaders and successful people that are worthy of mention as we close this part of the material and these personal qualities can be found in almost every successful person…

1. DEFINITE PURPOSE –Successful people know exactly what they want and constantly strive to get it. They have a definite purpose or chief aim in life and focus their personal time producing the results.

2. GOAL SETTERS- Successful people are constantly setting reasonable goals and take action to accomplish those goals. This may cause them to sacrifice for the short-term but that is O.K. because they will accomplish their goal and their life will be better for it.

3. ORGANIZED PLANNERS-Successful people are organized. They plan, readjust their plans and constantly think of more efficient ways to get things done. They plan each and every step to getting their goals. They make short term plans, medium term plans and long term plans and follow up until the job gets done.

4. DECISION MAKERS-Successful people make decisions and stick by them. They make their decisions quickly and change them slowly if at all. They tend to make their decisions based on the “facts” and not “guesses”.

5. DISCIPLINED-Successful People are disciplined. They apply themselves to the tasks required of their goals and plans backing those goals until they get the job done. They work long hours without complaint because they know that intelligently applied time will help them secure the object of their desire.

6. PERSISTENT-Successful people are persistent. They simply do not quit when the going gets tough. They realize that WINNERS NEVER QUIT AND QUITTERS NEVER WIN. They stick by their decisions, constantly applying effort toward reaching their goals and, if they fail, they realize that failure is only temporary unless a person has decided to quit permanently. There is no such thing as permanent failure. The only failure that is permanent is that which a person accepts as permanent.

7. GREAT ATTITUDES-Successful people have positive attitudes and they are honest in all their business dealing. They spend their time on worthy goals and doing good things where they work or in the communities they serve.

Copyright © 2006

James W. Hart, IV

All Rights Reserved

Quick View All Hart’s Articles

Top 10 Business Tips

Be Smart, Visit SBS. click this link http://smart67.com

SBS, Where Smart People Get Smarter Faster…

Check us out now and learn how SBS can help you…

Don’t forget to rate this article below! By rating this article you can help Jim Hart better serve your needs for quality article content. Thank you!
Characteristics Of Leaders

Tags: Business, Leadership,, corporate, leadership,, charismatic, leadership,, leadership, activities,, , management, training

Ever since different theories on leadership appeared, many people have tested or, at the very least, quizzed themselves whether or not they might become leaders.

Now, however, a series of standardized tests can determine whether or not a person has the tendency or the capacity to become a leader.

But why is this leadership skills assessment so important?

Well, here are the reasons:

1. For others to know you –a leadership skills assessment test would help you unlock a persona of you so that others might know you better. This leadership skills assessment test would help you know if you are indeed capable of influencing others around you.

Other people will also be able to uncover a part of you and can finally interpret all of your past actions in this new light of whether or not you are a potential leader.

Other people will also be able to appreciate you more in light of any new knowledge about you that the leadership skills assessment brings.

2. For you to know yourself – They say that every man goes through life seeking to understand who he really is. Sometimes bits and pieces of this puzzle are given out and a new insight to your personality is revealed to yourself.

A leadership skills assessment test is one of those bits and pieces. It not only gives you sweet drink. It gives you hope that one day, you will be able to know yourself fully and stand proud.

Once you found out the limitations of your leadership skills, you can work on them and keep on growing. With each intellectual growth and through each passing phase, you improve yourself.

3. For you to know others –any new information about anyone usually reflects on the behavior of others. A leadership skills assessment test would certainly reveal to you new sides of other people’s personalities.

A leadership skills assessment test would let you know if you earned any potential to be a future leader from your parents. It would also help you map out your future.

After all, with the amount of choices available today, deciding on a career path is getting harder and harder.

However, if you took a leadership skills assessment test, you would be able to know if you have the potential to reach your goals, and sometimes even your dreams.

Of course, nobody is saying that a leadership skills assessment test is crucial to your relationships and to your future.

You need to understand though, that a leadership skills assessment test would definitely give you another look at your options for the future.

You still hold your destiny. However, if you need a bit of help deciding what to do with it, why not try a leadership skills assessment test?

A little test can be a big help in choosing a career path for you. And that, my friend, is what’s so important about leadership skills assessment.

Tags: leadership, skills,, leadership, skills, assessment,, leadership, skill, training,, leadership, styles,, leadership, training,, leadership, theories

Some of us have the abilities to become diplomats, some have the abilities to become good followers, and some others have the ability to become leaders.

Although some people may say that leadership skills are inherent in the genes of a person, there are a few people who have proven that leadership skills can be acquired.

There are many reasons why it is important to enhance the inherent leadership skills of every person.

We live in a world where no man is an island. We may try to isolate a person for some idiosyncrasies, the truth is that we need each other.

This need is what makes leadership skills so important.

The fact that you need someone show you the importance of leadership skills. It shows you your need and therefore reveals to you that others also need other people.

When you realize that all people need each other, you will soon realize that they each need one person to coordinate with others.

And that is where leaderships skills come in. One of the most prominent leadership skills  is the ability to coordinate with other people. This means being able to communicate to other people what another person wants to say.

This leadership skill is needed when you are trying to come to an agreement with other people. The very fact that you can coordinate between two parties assures them that you can be in control as a leader.

Another leadership skill that is key is charisma. It is still debatable whether charisma is an inherent capability or something that is acquired. However, this leadership skill is needed to get you the following that you need.

Every good leader needs to instill in his followers an inherent desire to follow him. He may cause this by the use of words, deeds, or looks. All of these count as being part of a man’s charisma.

There has been some historical basis that sometimes people follow some ideal or cause just because of the leader.

Charisma is a very dangerous thing as most people do base their decisions on how it “feels” to them.

Charisma is one leadership skill that is very hard to acquire, probably because of the fact that no one can really define it. The fact of the matter remains that when you ask people what makes a person charismatic, they will answer you with a shrug and say “just something”.

Leadership skill like this is very important because they form the basis of human relationships. Whether we realize  it or not, we use leadership skills in our day to day affair.

In negotiations, conversations, daily interactions, we make use of our charisma, our diplomacy skills and other leadership skills in order to get what we want out of life and people.

We all want something and more often than not, the key to getting that certain something is in another person. And so we use all our leadership skills to persuade that person to help us achieve our goal.

We cajole, reprove, direct, and persuade other people in order for us to achieve that which we desire.

So, in a sense, all human beings do have leadership skills. Because being a human actually does mean being a leader.

Whether or not that is a good thing still remains to be seen.

Leadership skills.