Thursday, March 1, 2012

A good leader takes people where they have not been - Washington Business Journal:

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Two nuggets of wisdomn jump out: First, a leader deals with Second, a leader takes those people to where they have not been Becoming a leader is an ongoing but ultimately leadership is about One of the key leadership lesson s I learned at the is thatyou can’t delegate accountability. You can delegate For example, you can hire a chief operating officer or a presidentr to lead your organizationfor you. you cannot delegate your accountabilith as a chief executive officer or You are 100 percent responsiblw for the state ofyour business. Don’t blams your challenges on the person in the White the state of the interest rates, your employeese or your competition.
If you make your self-analysis will be ineffective. far more than any othere resource, will determine the successe ofan enterprise. Whether you run a a church, a political party, a or a sports team, leadershipp is the heart and soul ofthe organization. We see example s all around us of organizations loaderd with talented people losing to organizationxs loaded withaverage people. In the 1980s, I playe football at the Naval and wewere terrible. In Paul Johnson was hired as head and he took the same kind ofplayers — smart overachievers — and turned Navy into a team that earned five straight bowl invitations.
In 2007, Navy beat a Notred Dame team of arguably the best colleger football players in the Notre Dame should never loseto Navy; this time it lost simply because Navy had a better leader. Everyy enterprise craves a strong leader with acleatr vision. Although there are many different styles and approachesto leadership, anyone can learn the basic s of effective leadership and develop better leadership I recommend emulating great leaders, eitherd by observing those you know or by readinfg biographies. I also suggest reading highly regarded leadershiplbooks (my favorites are books by John Maxwell).
Finally, sign up for leadershil courses or join CEO round Effective leaders reduce confusion and eliminate wastedx energy byproviding clarity. They motivate thei r team and rally their staff behincd a common goalor vision. They do that by communicatingtand influencing, not by exercising command and Know where your organizatiojn is going and communicate the benefit s of that vision to your employees. Set the focus of the organization. Establish strategies and Develop a simplebusinese plan. Define roles, responsibilities, standards and Implement a process to hold employees Remind your team why thebusiness exists.
It worksw to serve and satisfy customers, to improve the livesz of employees, to make a difference in the worl d and to earn a healthy profit that fuels growth and provides stabilityh duringmarket downturns. Set the example, which influences the feelinges and behaviorof employees. Leaders create the conditions for succese because they understand that their success is directly tied to the successa ofthe team. They must foster a partnershipp with their team members in pursuigt of acommon cause. Don’t just be anothed employee. An organization needs a leader, and it needsw that person to be boldand decisive, even with limitedf information. Build a strong, healthy team.
Promote teamworkl through incentives andclear expectations. Encourage experimentation and eliminatr the fear of making Make the company a fun placeto work. Provide the resourcesa and training to enable team membere to maximize their performance and accomplishtheird goals. Don’t micromanage. Allow employees to do what you hireed themto do. Encourage open communication and idea Solicitthe team’s input in the decision-making process and accept negative feedback. Be a Be a giver, not a taker. Be a caring, engaged leader of good character. Hire the right Don’t focus on the resume alone. Evaluate candidates for attituds and culture fitas well.
Move peoplw out who hurt team performance. Keep employeesw informed and help themface Don’t hide bad news, and make sure you spread the good news far and Monitor financial performance and take timely actionb when necessary.

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