THE "BLOODLINE" FOR SUCCEEDING AS A LEADER

Horse racing today is a science. A high quality bloodline produces triple crown champions like Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Horses are carefully bred to engender the qualities needed for speed and victory.

What if you could predict your success as a leader by your bloodline? As we grow up our circumstances in life, for example; family, friends, religion, education, socioeconomic status greatly influence our values and behavior. All-powerful, however, are the pattern of choices we make from the thoughts we believe that lead to the actions we take. As a result we create a bloodline through a consistent pattern of thinking and behaving. It is inevitable and in time makes us predictable. How do you know if you have the bloodline that determines if you will succeed as a leader?

I believe there are four bloodlines that potential leaders follow. I will illustrate each using managers I know from my consulting experience.

4 Manager Examples

Vicky wants to do a good job but she always struggles. Her department is often in a state of chaos. She has had good and bad bosses in her career. She does better with a better boss. She is inconsistent in her communication, expectations and follow-through. Her intentions are genuine, but her people skills are lacking. She has been fired for lack of performance. In her current job, she is in the survival mode.

Joe is considered a competent leader. He does his best. His company has moved him around and he has achieved mixed results in his career. He reaches objectives most of the time but hasn't consistently exceeded numbers. Others describe him as steady, hardworking and dependable. Over the years he just got comfortable and blended in. He calls himself a company man.

Madeline is focused and involved. She is known for taking poor teams and making them good to great teams. She believes in people and coaches exceptionally well. She has high expectations, pushes for higher customer experience standards, and talks about "making a positive difference with employees and customers." Her employees describe her with reverence and respect. Her goal is to help you get to the next level in your career and income.

Bill drives hard to win; his scoreboard is making more money. He pays people well, and wants the job done. If it isn't you are in trouble. He is direct, loud and sometimes abusive. While he can be an engaging guy, most of his team develops thick skin or leaves. He's loyal to those who stick it out, but the business is in a constant state of tension when he is around because he is on top of everything. He says, after all "it's my money."

4 Leadership Bloodline Descriptions

Over the last twenty years in our consulting we have witnessed countless managers that succeeded and failed. We not only have determined strategies that helped their successes but have cataloged the characteristics that are necessary for consistency and effectiveness. We have organized four types of bloodlines and descriptions. Where do you think you are? Where does your boss fit?

Survival leaders struggle and are included in the 50% of managers that fail. They lack the skills and most often the ethics of an effective leader. They are bewildered and overwhelmed in their roles.

Standard leaders are average but can achieve decent results at times. They have a mix of skills and ethics it takes to do better. They have to be willing to break their comfort zones to get to the next level.

Servant leaders believe in people and make it their aim to coach their team's to the highest performance levels. They have high expectations, are demanding but employees tend to rally around their desire to win with integrity.

Self-centered leaders have a ruthless and crafty devotion for their own success. They say their care about others success but their actions tell a different story over time. While they may achieve brilliant results on occasion, it's most often not sustainable over time. Employee turnover is a problem for them.

How do you change your bloodline?

I described above that the leadership bloodline is about a consistent pattern of thinking and behaving. This is all learned, and it is exhibited by your knowledge base, skills in influencing people, your values in dealing with them and the passion with which you lead and manage. We know that if you learn more, and change your thinking and actions; you will enjoy more success as a leader.

Knowledge and skills can be learned. This takes training, coaching, mentoring and practice. To get better you have to be willing to invest in yourself to improve. Depending on your current situation, it may take some time and a dramatic effort, but you can increase your success as a leader. Olympic champions train 10,000 over four years to compete in the games. Former US President John Kennedy said, "Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another."

Values are another thing to deal with. All of us have seen far too many leaders fall from grace in despicable tragedy because of a lack of integrity. I have found that once a person crosses the ethical line it is hard to change. Yet, some people can change significantly. AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) has helped millions of people turn their lives round, and others have spiritual conversions after their cheating or lying is exposed. I believe through coaching and mentoring it is possible to achieve different results, too. Novelist John Berger says, "Without ethics, man has no future. This is to say, mankind without them cannot be itself. Ethics determine choices and actions and suggest difficult priorities."

Lastly, every manager needs to regular reignite their passion for what they do. If the leader is excited then the team will be, too. Far too many leaders are doing what they do because it's a job. Then they wonder why their team's are mediocre. Get fired up by learning more, listening to your employees or customers, attending new conferences, adjusting your routine, challenging your assumptions or taking time to think more. Helen Keller advised us, "One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar." Katherine Hepburn added, "If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting."?

I coach leaders that the performance of their teams depends on their performance. I believe in the Servant Leader approach, or as I call it Superstar Leadership. Research shows it works. With it you not only lead better because you make a positive difference in the lives of others as they exceed goals, but you also sleep better at night because you do the right things. Why not be the best you can be and help others do the same?

By the way, do you want to learn how to increase employee engagement and inspire your team? Check out our complimentary eBook: How to Motivate--No, Inspire!-- People.

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If you liked this post, here are a few other posts you may find helpful:

• 10 Phrases Good Managers Say Always-Often!
• 10 Keys To Employee Engagement
• 13 Troubles of Terrible Teams
• Leadership is About People, Not Your Paycheck
• 6 Proven Ways to Deal with a Bad Boss
• How to Get Feedback When You Are the Leader
• Get the Job You Want with this Little Known Technique

Thank you for reading this post. I wish you the best of success.