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

One common cause of this kind of negative shift involves the ego (or sense of self-importance) that can occur when someone is in a leadership position and loses perspective about his or her role in the organization.

It’s not uncommon for someone who has power and authority to come to believe that he or she is far more important, knowledgeable and able then is really the case. In common language, we can call this “believing the press clippings”.

It’s not surprising. A successful leader tends to garner large amounts of praise and recognition for successes both from those outside an organization, but also from followers within the organization. This is particularly problematic in situations where the leader sets up an internal organizational culture that supports communicating about positive things, and sweeping bad news under the rug. In these situations the leader does not receive the kinds of feedback about what he or she needs to do differently, and comes to believe in his or her infallibility.

Apart from inadequate feedback from followers, another cause of ego sabotage comes from what we call misattribution of success. It is common for human beings to use the halo effect, and attribute success to leaders, when in fact, that success is not do to the specific leader, but to a large variety of other factors. Misattribution attributes cause and effect to the wrong sources.

It is true that some leaders succeed (at least for a while) due to being in the right place at the right time with the right skills. However, as situations change, leaders who do not change along with the situations (due to ego) will tend to self-destruct. Is it surprising that leaders who are elevated to legendary status start to believe in their own perfection? As evidence for the effects of misattribution, it’s interesting to look at leaders who are effective in one organization, but fail badly when they move to another.

Finally, and perhaps most important, leaders who allow their egos to run rampant will tend to stop doing what made them successful in the first place. For example, a leader may succeed because he or she created good relationships with those around him or her, listening, responding, and so on. With success (and the belief that it’s the leader that is creating great success), some leaders will stop listening, and become out of touch.

(c) 2007, Robert Bacal, Bacal & Associates. You are welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end) all links are made live, and this copyright notice and indication of authorship are included.

Robert Bacal is a leadership and management consultant and author published worldwide by McGraw-Hill and Alpha Press. His books cover performance management, customer service, consulting and dealing with difficult employees.

For more free material on leadership related topics, please drop into the Leadership Development Resource Center, where you will find both long and short articles on the art and science of leadership, and an extensive knowledgebase on all aspects of leadership in private, public and non-profit organizations, and also applicable to your personal life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Bacal

Imagine if you can have anything that you want in your life…

* money, love, peace, great career, wonderful team to work with, great boss…

What would you give to find out the secret?

There is no secret really, as popularized by the movie,The Secret.  You know that everything that comes into your life is what you attract to it, what you think, it becomes.   If you think you can succeed, then you can.

The challenge however is to discover how to allow the proper energy to flow in and manifest according to your wishes.

In a position of leadership, you could use all the help in your job to influence your team and get results.  You must know that everything begins with being aware of your own thoughts.  If you want success, imagine what it feels like to be successful and not the mountains to climb to get there. Focus on the image of success.

The Attraction Accelerator is a free special report put together by my mentor, Stephen Pierce who interviewed Bob Proctor, the ultimate Guru on Law of Attraction (he is the Teacher featured in the movie, The Secret) where he shares his 40-year study of the science of getting rich.

Read more about it here, right click to save to your computer:   http://www.theinfopublishers.com/getrich/getrich.pdf

A profound thought in the special report:

Most people are not going after what they want. Even some of the most serious goal seekers and goal setters, they’re going after what they think they can get. They say, “Now…..if this happens, and if that happens, and if that money comes in, and if I could get this, and if I could understand that, then I could do this.”.

But If the Law of Attraction is as simple as that, why aren’t more people wealthy, even gratified about the state their lives are in?

The Answer is a Simple One.

There is an Exact Science to Applying the Law of Attraction to Build the Life You Seek. Can you imagine how many good intentions FAIL to manifest because of a lack of understanding of the Science of Getting Rich?

Does this sound like you?
* I’d like to be earning a far greater income.

* I want to provide more for my family.

*I sometimes worry about money.

* I work hard, but don’t see the income I desire.

*There are many things in life I want, but cannot afford.

*Without my current job, I have no other streams of income.

Get the whole report here for free, right click to save to your computer:  http://www.theinfopublishers.com/getrich/getrich.pdf

P/S:  You may forward this free report to those whom you think can benefit from it.  I wish you well and success.

Tags: law, of, attraction,, leadership, qualities,, leadership, skill,, leadership, development,, how, to, lead, effectively

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

What has caused the lack of trust among followers related to institutional leaders? We need to start with the basics. Leaders need more integrity. Simons maintains that the trust of subordinates is widely recognized as critical component for high performance organizations. In organizational culture, leaders then find themselves as institutional advocates; they influence how followers perceive organizational values.

Although many organizations are loaded with talented people on their teams, teamwork cannot exist unless there is trust since trust builds cohesiveness and creates synergism among team members. Given the nature of today’s competition, an employee could feel isolated and become fearful with the numerous organizational changes.

If communications are poor, it can increase the level of distrust toward management. From this initial research, it can be concluded that employees find it difficult to trust leaders who demonstrate no integrity.

Leaders must model good behavior. Personal values supply the basic convictions that provide a framework for personal conduct. Therefore, there is an obvious connection between personal and organizational value alignment. Conflicts arise when individuals have differing values in organizations. Behavioral integrity (BI) denotes the perceived degree of congruence between words expressed by a leader and the actions taken.

This creates value misalignment between the organization and the individual follower. Obviously, today’s followers are closely watching the actions of their leaders to determine if they align with the leaders’ words. Therefore, leaders need to foster high integrity.

References:

Robbins, S. (2005). Organizational behavior. NY: Prentice Hall.

Simons, T. (1999). Behavioral integrity as a critical ingredient for transformational leadership. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 12(2), pp. 89-104.

© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making (personal and organizational), leadership, and organizational behavior. Mr. Green is also the author of four books, including More than a Conqueror: Achieving Personal Fulfillment in Government Service. Do you want to improve your life? Do you want to make better decisions? If you answer “yes,” then go to master decision-making website at http://www.darylgreen.org
Leadership Integrity

Tags: leadership, integrity,, leadership, development,, leadership, skills

There are four key elements to consider in developing and constructing your own philosophy of business.

In the broad sense, your business philosophy is simply your understanding of human nature, human needs, your own drivers and how this understanding impacts the way your business is conducted.

You must apply this knowledge in a very practical way in your business. It has implications for every element of your business, because your business has to deal with people every day of the week.

Understand Human Nature

Basically, we are all interested predominantly in one person in the world. This person is the most important person in the world. Who is this person - our self, of course. We love talking about what we do. We are all, for the most part, self-interested in our interactions with the world around us.

Understanding this aspect of human nature is critical in life and in business. Others are interested in what I have to say or what I may have to offer only in as much as it serves their purposes or gives them something that they want.

This means then that, rather than telling people about the product or services we might have to offer, we should be focusing on listening to them and what they need, and we thereby help them resolve the problems that they have identified and need to overcome.

Understanding human nature demands that we must always be in listening mode. This is one of the priceless qualities of good leadership, good business and a good life. We must learn to listen attentively and genuinely.

Understand Human Needs

Dr William Glasser, in his work, talks about the five basic human needs that require satisfaction. They are the need for survival, the need for love and belonging, the need for fun, the need for freedom and the need for power and control.

As leaders in business, it is incumbent on us to understand the needs of the people around us, factor them into our thinking and manage them throughout all our activities.

In the successful business, we achieve everything with and through others around us. Therefore, building a business culture that is “need satisfying” for all the people in it and for those who interact with it is crucial for success.

It creates an innovative environment and a dedicated and committed group of people that willingly put in the effort that ensures your business objectives are met.

Understand Your Own Drivers

Knowing your own predominant personal drivers is critical for the high performing business person. Knowing and understanding what makes you tick, what your strengths are and what excites you are critical in getting the best out of yourself and the people around you.

Being able to talk openly about our own strengths enables us to play to them and manage our weaknesses. Working with and through others means that we become aware of the wonderful strengths of the people around us and encourage them to play to their strengths as well.

Together, this creates a leadership team that delivers high performing results, enables people to identify and manage areas of risk, and enhances your problem solving/conflict resolution skills.

Never Stop Trying to Understand Yourself and Other People

Understanding human nature, human needs and your own drivers is an ongoing journey of learning and applied knowledge.

Reading books on the subject, for example Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People or How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger, can help you gain important insights into human nature.

William Glassser’s Choice Theory or Nohria and Lawrence’s book Driven help us gain an understanding of the basic human needs that we all have.

Observe the people around you and adopt a listening mindset.

Knowing yourself, your own strengths and tendencies and preferences is critical in running a successful business. There is a wide range of psychometric instruments available that can help you gain emotional intelligence in business.

Having a practical, working knowledge of these facets of the human condition is your business philosophy. Knowing what it is and being able to share it with others is invaluable in running a highly successful business that is attuned to the needs of people.

Peter McLean is a highly experienced Coach, Senior Manager, Consultant, Business Owner and Company Director. He successfully coaches top Executives in some of Australia’s leading multi-national companies. One such Senior Executive recently won an International Award for Excellence within his particular field. In addition, Peter works extensively in the Public, Private, Commercial and Not-for-Profit sectors, delivering outstanding results for his clients. To learn more of how you can benefit from Peter’s experience, visit the Essential Business Coach web site!

Leadership skills development

Tags: leadership, skills,, leadership, development,, , business, leadership