#300: 100 Ways to be a Great Leader

Here are 100 one-liners to help you learn and remember the key points of leading others.

1

Managers concern themselves with business survival, leaders with business growth

2

Managers see people as resources to be used, leaders see them as potential to be realized

3

Management and leadership are opposite sides of the same coin

4

A manager deals in what can be measured, a leader in what can be felt

5

Old leaders used their power to get things done; new leaders use other people's power

6

Past leadership models were based on rescue and supremacy; new models are based on getting results through people

7

Times of change and upheaval have a greater need for leaders than times of stability

8

Leadership is the result of timing and circumstance, rarely a planned strategy

9

One common characteristic of strong leaders is their drive for power

10

Leaders may be born with leadership potential, but leadership skills are in everyone

11

Many business leaders ascribe their leadership skills to formative experiences when young

12

Research suggests that leaders rely more on experience to get them through crisis situations than on skill

13

The measure of a leader's charismatic power is how much others are prepared to follow them

14

The personality of leaders determines their leadership style

15

The only common trait amongst leaders of history is their ability to get others to follow them

16

The Prescriptive leader leads by laying down principles for others to follow

17

The Team leader leads by being the first in the team, captain, one of the gang

18

The Success leader leads by projecting a glamorous image that others want to follow

19

Managerial leaders make good number twos to figurehead leaders

20

The Intelligent leader leads by insight into what needs to be done

21

Adventure leaders are dynamic leaders who lead by example

22

Conquering leaders are those who need enemies to overcome and defeat

23

Reconciling leaders have a quiet and peacemaking ability to bring people together

24

The Mission Statement is a written version of the organisation's purpose

25

A mission statement should excite those who read it

26

What leaders see that others don't is the potential in things and people

27

Leaders see across three spatial zones: the near, the middle and the distant

28

A compelling vision of where they want to go is the hallmark of all great leaders

29

Leaders express their vision through metaphor and symbol so that there is room for others to interpret it in their own way

30

The organisation's value system is just as important as any other system

31

The prevailing norms of the society are always reflected in the culture of a successful organisation

32

The rituals of an organisation are the activities which have greater symbolic meaning than actual meaning

33

The culture of an organisation is in the way people speak, the way they treat each other, and the way they think about the organisation

34

The cultural tone of an organisation is set by the original founding fathers or pioneers

35

Stories and myths are the ways that organisations transmit their cultural values

36

Leaders are the guardians of an organisation's culture and cannot change it at will

37

Organisational cultures should fit the business environment and the critical business processes

38

Leadership styles vary according to whether team needs are greater than task needs, or vice versa

39

The directive style of leadership requires a look of authority to be successful

40

A directive style of leadership may be called for when there is a crisis, a deadline or a major change

41

The consultative leader can choose whether to talk to the team and let them decide or talk to the team and decide themselves

42

Good leaders meet regularly with their team

43

The consultative style of leading requires the ability to use both one-way and two-way forms of communication with ease

44

A problem-solving style of leadership is necessary if the power of the team is as strong as the power of the leader

45

The problem-solving style of leadership aims to create win-win agreements with the team

46

A delegated leadership style is appropriate when the team are mature enough to get on with the task without the leader's interference

47

If you use a delegated style of leadership, you must resist the temptation to intervene when you don't like the way things are going

48

Delegation requires a high level of trust in the team

49

Delegation is not the same as abandoning the team to their own devices

50

A strong leader can adjust their style of leading to match the needs of the task and the needs of the team

51

A consistent leader sticks to one style all the time, a contingent leader changes to suit

52

Leaders are like parents who have to change as their children grow

53

When the team are inexperienced and need guidance, the leader is like a mother figure, nurturing and supportive

54

When the team are strong and able to stand on their own, the leader is like a father figure, encouraging and empowering

55

A team's maturity is determined by their level of dependence on the leader

56

The wise leader has an intuitive feel for what kind of intervention to make in the work of the team

57

When the team are at a dependent stage of development, they look for clear directions and strong leadership

58

When the team are at an independent stage of development, they look for support and permission from the leader

59

When the team are at a mature interdependent stage of development, they expect the team leader to respond to their needs

60

An effective consultative leader listens and decides; an ineffective one simply listens to put things off

61

An effective delegating leader delegates to develop; an ineffective one delegates to dump

62

An effective directive leader gives clear directions; an ineffective one overrides what others want

63

An effective problem-solving leader seeks win-win outcomes; an ineffective one seeks compromises

64

According to research, what people want most from their leaders is the willingness to trust them

65

Leaders are keen to listen to people from all levels of the organisation

66

You cannot listen properly to others if your mind is already made up

67

Leaders know how to listen with their minds as well as their ears

68

The value that leaders add which managers don't is their ability to develop the team

69

Good leaders are insatiable collectors of information about their team

70

The end result of communicating constantly with the team is to motivate them

71

A leader communicates not just on the level of speaking with the team but at deeper levels too of locking in to how they think and feel

72

Good leaders take the blame when things go badly and give the team credit when things go well

73

Team leaders need to be close enough to the team to be available and far enough away to let the team grow

74

The route to excellent performance is the sum total of lots of positive habits

75

Coaxing is part of coaching

76

A good team needs to be both grounded in the present and farsighted enough to see where it is going

77

The process of team-building takes time and patience

78

Leaders are coaches who spot the hidden potential in individuals and teams

79

Building the team takes individuals from unshared certainty to shared uncertainty

80

Leaders help people remove the blocks to their limitations

81

Teams do as well as the leader expects them to

82

People-building includes "leading people out" through broadening their education

83

You encourage others when you get them to believe in themselves

84

Leaders can do no better than restore people's pride in their own abilities

85

Empowering others means trusting them to do the best they can

86

Don't do things to others that you hated being done to you

87

Persistence and patience are pre-requisites for achieving longterm goals

88

Leaders require the self-knowledge to know their own limitations

89

For followers to put their trust in their leaders, those leaders must have credibility

90

A good leader doesn't lead for what he or she can achieve but for what the team can achieve

91

Having a sense of humour means letting the team see the human side of your leadership

92

A good leader shows the team just how good they, the team, can be

93

Being brave is a more important leadership quality than being right

94

The qualities of leadership are undifferentiated in that they are never distinct enough to copy

95

The quality of leadership has an element of mystery about it

96

Most people want their leaders to be honest with them

97

Leaders treat everyone by the same set of principles

98

Integrity means what you say is in line with what you do and who you are

99

Modern leaders turn the hierarchy upside-down and support the team

100

A good leader ask others what he or she can do to help them perform better