4 Strengths of Effective Leadership
Trevor Maloney
I help good CEOs & Entrepreneurs become great Leaders | Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching | Keynote Speaker
In my podcast episodes and previous articles, I have discussed what I believe the definition of leadership is and specifically how to become the leader of your own life through the daily development of one’s character, competence and commitment. In today’s world, I do believe the worthiest pursuit is to adopt responsibility for everything in our lives and develop these three areas to become the most vibrant individual as possible. What I want to talk about today, however, are four strengths that a leader must possess if they want to be an effective leader to others. It is not enough to just become the best you can be, because being able to impact others and influence positive behavior and results is the ultimate leadership goal. Whether you are a leader of a household, small or large organization, your ability to instigate positive movement in others determines the leader you truly are. There are so many skills a leader can and should have but to me the four we are about to uncover will produce lasting results! Let’s jump right in! Below is a link to the podcast. Enjoy, subscribe, review!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-great-i-am-with-trevor-maloney/id1451457389
Direction:
This almost goes without saying, or does it? From a practical standpoint, as leaders, we MUST have a concrete vision. Knowing exactly where we are headed is not only valuable for our own inspiration but quite frankly, most people do not have this figured out. They are leading others in circles or simply relying on someone to show them the way and guide them to their destination. The leaders that are brave enough to take this challenge head-on are delivering massive results daily because they are bringing people closer to a specific goal or destination. You are a tour guide on the most important adventure ever, life! Do you have the map to the destination? Are you prepared for the stumbling blocks along the way? You must be so dialed into the vision that regardless of what happens, you are able to adjust and move on. Whether in your personal life or in the workplace, creating a compelling vision requires you to understand where you are going while aligning your vision with a “why” that is strong enough to drive action towards achievement.
Value Alignment:
“Leaders” so often make the mistake of blanketing personal values over everyone around them without considering other’s values, goals, and purpose. This is a massive mistake that can cannibalize production and engagement. What we must understand is that our values are not always congruent with the values of others around us. Often time the toughest challenge in the workplace is employee engagement and retainment. More times than not the people inside of the organization are not operating with a high level of engagement, sometimes none. Can you blame them though? The values and goals that leadership members put into play were not considerate of what the entire organization feels are valuable. In order to be an effective leader, you must align what you think to be valuable to what your employees think to be valuable. Specifically, if you can articulate in an authentic fashion that where you are headed will not only impact the organization but also get the employees closer to their personal goals, well you then have one heck of a combination. When this happens, people are willing to work hard, fast and consistent because there is both an individual and collective interest that is shared amongst the entire team. This can work in your family as well. A simple way to figure out how to align values can be done by being aware of one’s goals both personally and professionally. You can know this by having everyone write their personal mission statement down. Once you are aware of this, now you can begin to explain how where the group is headed will positively affect their goals directly.
Communication:
The ability to articulate inspiring speech is one of the most valuable strengths to have as a leader. You have heard the saying before, it is not about what you say it is how you say it. Well, this could not be truer in today’s world. With how fast and disruptive business is today, we need to be perfecting our ability to speak respectful, truthful speech that drives action towards a shared common goal. When you are in conversation, are you actually listening to the person or are you just telling them what to do? If you want others around you to be inclined to take action with you, you need to actively listen to them! In 12 Rules for Life by Dr. Jordan Peterson, one of the rules discusses the thought of assuming the person you are talking to knows something that you do not. Powerful right? How easy is it for us to assume we have all the answers? We can easily fall into narcissistic conversations in which our desire to learn, grow and conversate is compromised just by our mindset. Look, as leaders, we do not know everything and in fact, we shouldn’t. The best leaders know how to surround themselves with others who are extraordinary at the things they aren’t! A leader’s goal is to get people to do more and become more while striving towards a common goal that affects everyone in a positive way. Next time you have an opportunity to improve your communication, try what I mentioned above. Listen to the other person like they know something that you don’t. Watch how quickly the conversation transforms into engaging dialogue and inspires action. Hey, you might actually learn something!
Trust others and be able to be Trusted:
One of the deepest values that any person can have is the trustworthiness. As leaders, we must be able to be trusted and we must do as we say. Many of us forget that our words carry weight. When we speak to others, they expect us to be speaking the truth. If we fail to uphold our commitments, we begin to lose the one thing we cannot afford to lose, trust. Are you upholding your commitments daily? Are you continuing to serve others with the truth? A leader that can be trusted in one that is also able to make a real impact in one’s life. When people feel you can be trusted they will tell you things that allow you to understand a glimpse of what is going on in their life. Once this happens, you can do things to improve their current state, reach their goals and soar to new heights. There is another side of trust that is not talked about enough as well, the ability to trust others! Everyone wants to trust but doesn’t want to risk giving it. It is so vital as a leader to show that you trust others to handle things without being all over them. This transfers a level of confidence in the ones around you and drives an uplifting environment.
Directora de Certificaciones ISO, IRCA Auditor de Calidad - QMS.
5 年Interesting Thanks
Fractional CHRO / CPO | CEO HR Soul Consulting | Speaker | On a "crazy" mission to change the world one workplace at a time
5 年Direction, Value Alignment, Communication & Trust!? Could not agree more Trevor!
President of John Mattone Coaching, JMG Chief Sales Officer & Partner, and IL Executive Coach & Author
5 年Excellent brother!!
I help good CEOs & Entrepreneurs become great Leaders | Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching | Keynote Speaker
5 年Kyle Crooke?Kyle Godwin?Nicholas Mattone?Paul J. Cortissoz, SPHR?Marcel Kuhn Bamert?Susan Ryan