Leadership is all around us whether good, bad, poor, ugly, great, everywhere in between. This includes parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, friends, executives, and managers. People in these leadership positions have a big impact on the people that they're guiding and the outcomes that are produced.
It affects everyone involved. Ideally, leadership is about developing and bringing out the best in people, to serve them providing the necessary guidance, direction, and often involves bringing individuals together to accomplish what they are unable to alone. There are many people that are in leadership positions that they're just not equipped to lead in that moment. Then there are others not in a formal leadership position yet can lead with excellence. Leadership isn't just hard skill sets that you put on a resume such as those concrete things but it's more those soft skills that are so difficult to measure.
Those tangible things such as having a certain degree or certification can indicate a certain amount knowledge someone has or knowing how to code, how to work with software programs and other technologies make someone standout. They might be good at individual roles but that alone does not indicate that they'll be good leaders.
Defining excellent leadership
Excellent leadership are the things that are done and not just who you are, the actions that are taken and not just the words that are said to earn trust and respect. There's a difference between bosses and leaders. Bosses order people around using their authority to their advantage, flexing the amount of false strength. They might raise their voice or throw silly tantrums to get people’s attention. An effective leader serves the people they are guiding knowing how to empower them to be their best selves, to contribute to a common goal.
They understand the importance of pushing the right buttons in people and working with them. Everyone responds differently to the interactions that they have. Some people do their best when the pressure is on where somebody can really challenge them and get after them to deliver certain results. Other people are motivated by having a bit more autonomy, a bit more distance and not being under an intense watchful eye. It's about adapting to what the individuals need while still understanding how that contributes to what everybody is working towards.
Leaders are made and not just born. It's not just naturally someone has certain traits that makes them qualified to be a leader. Yes, some people without very little work have certain characteristics that can manage situations better but that is not the whole story. Those abilities that a supposed leader has that naturally comes to them are merely a starting point, it definitely can help them.
Someone that might be lacking in self-awareness, self-assessing, managing difficult things or seeing the big picture does not mean they are disqualified from leading others, it does not tell the whole story of who the person can become. People can develop into roles that affect other people for the better, but this largely is not emphasized. It's just like a skill set if you're naturally good at sports or you're naturally good at math or music then a lot more emphasis is put on what you're naturally good at.
Excellent leaders communicate effectively
Great leaders communicate effectively with the all people involved. They can use their words with a high amount of accuracy so that when they're done speaking everybody understands the message. It's about engaging everybody involved to be connected and united. A great leader will avoid talking just for the sake of talking, they'll know when and how to convey certain messages, so people pay attention.
The average person is estimated to be able to pay attention for 8 seconds at a time and the average audience can pay attention for 7 minutes so it’s very crucial during moments when a leader is speaking to a group to get to the point while providing the right content. Delivering a message that's too short can leave out important details, delivering a message that's too long can water down all the important points that need to be made.
Everybody has their own things going on in their mind that excite them, worry them, whatever it might be. It's about being able to get their focus on what's being said that will be the difference in how well things are executed on. Great leaders are part of what makes great teams and organizations possible.
Just about everybody understands the mission or the goal, who does what and when they do it. It's not just about specific messages but the standard that these teams and organizations adhere to. Where they have a mission statement but it's not just some words that are said but what’s being done, it's carried out, it's what drives the culture.
This sets clear expectations, so everybody knows what to strive for. It's simply not enough to say we got to be better, we got to make good decisions. All that's relative to the person that's viewing or hearing it. One person’s better could be another person’s not good enough or it could be someone’s good decision and it could be somebody else’s average decision.
A great leader will communicate what everyone should be striving for. With so many different leadership styles this is going to work for certain organizations, and it may not work for others but they're all unique to what suits them. There needs to be a culture and philosophy that is going to make everyone better together that really provides a place for people wanting to be there instead of having to be there.
Being proactive
Another great characteristic of excellent leaders is that they're just constantly proactive, not waiting for things to become a problem and instead they're looking further out ahead. To see what could be an issue and finding ways to prevent it or at least minimize if it does come about. This gets them out of that survival mode of only reacting when there's danger that's present. So when change does come about they're better prepared for it and actually they're just going to be ahead of everybody else because they’re going to be catching up to them.
Some great examples are that of the company Apple that even though when they introduced their personal computer there was a period where they were stagnant in the late 90s and then they started to move more towards phones being the device of choice, that would be the new personal computer. They also worked on the tablet which at first wasn't too well received. Then over time they were adopted widely that have been ingrained into our daily lives. It was through effective leadership that they were able to continuously be one of the top performing companies.
Part of this comes from just finding ways to get better to improve things in whatever capacity. This kind of keeps everyone on the edge of their seat ready to get at the next thing as opposed to just becoming complacent with the successes that they've had. It really makes things exciting as we all need mental stimulation to get us to give our best effort consistently.
In trying new things to get ahead there is some nervousness that comes with things not working out well, but it gets us to focus on the details along the way and learn. It makes each day different that can feel refreshing. While changing is part of growing it is still about the core values that are set.
They are the guiding principles to navigate the path taken and it’s just about figuring out how to do it. Look at Disney’s mission statement which is to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe. It is their driving force that has led them to reach beyond films but into theme parks, sports, cruise ships and streaming content while being focused on their vision.
Positioning to succeed
Another great trait is putting people and things in positions to flourish. It’s recognizing other’s strengths and weaknesses as well as their own to see how it all can contribute to the big picture. Within team settings, everyone brings certain skills that complement one another. Where one’s weakness can be offset by another person’s strength.
Ideally, we want things to go as smoothly as possible, that everyone involved is all stars and dominate their area of focus. But that is not the case much of the time. Great leaders understand that things will get ugly and feisty at times and the tempting thing to do is want to scream at everybody to shape up and get the results that are expected. That does not inspire confidence amongst a team. Instead of giving into the urge to behave with the reptilian brain of acting out based on feeling threatened, great leaders can stay composed to assess what are the pain points, what options are available, and the unknowns related to what is being faced.
This might mean making small changes where a person is struggling to perform well, and some time is taken off. Phil Jackson, who was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s, gave one of their pivotal players Dennis Rodman time off during the season to clear his head. Michael Jordan was opposed to this because it could drag down the team performance, but Phil explained the importance of Dennis spending time to be away so when he came back, he would be fully locked in. Phil understood Dennis’s needs and met him halfway as long as Dennis responded well. The result was an NBA championship that season.
Great leaders will change so they can inspire everyone else and sometimes that means admitting to everyone that they have failed them or wrong in what they’re doing. Just acknowledging that to the people they lead can earn them huge respect because it signals to everyone that their ego is not too big. That they can self-assess, being objective that earns people’s trust to do what is in the best interest for everyone. This creates an atmosphere of openness to know that we're all flawed, that we're all going to make mistakes and that's nothing to be ashamed of. Instead, it's just about being a work in progress figuring things out along the way.
In creating an environment where everyone can be open this actually allows everyone to really excel in everything that they do. Where instead of people being timid about opening up on how they view things, they’ll be more likely to do so even if it's in disagreements that allows for productive conversations that leads to great alternatives and solutions. It gives everyone the opportunity to say what's on their mind without interruptions, without ridicule and instead searching through all the hidden gems.
Great leaders will recognize to just get out of the way to let the people with their unique skill sets be used so everyone can benefit. This will require a leader being silent to just let things flow and not feel the need to intervene or to contribute in some way just to make themselves feel significant. Excellent leaders truly understand the importance of building people up instead of trying to tear them down so they can be looked up to. Anyone that's trying to tear you down is simply not a good leader, they're just a boss commanding and barking out orders that damages confidence and trusting oneself.
Final thoughts
What we all can learn from great leadership is that we don't have to wait for someone to lead us that we can be our own great leaders for ourselves and for the people all around us. It's not about bossing people around telling them what to do but instead uplifting them, supporting them, serving them in whatever way you can so they can be their best and so you can be your best as well.
If you can recognize the difference between excellent leadership and poor leadership and everywhere in between you can move on from tolerating all the bad to finding yourself in a better position. Focus on the behaviors because that will tell you all you need to know if things are going in the right direction. Know what your mission in life is and let that lead the way.
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