Five Leadership Principles
1. Model the Way: Modeling the way is essentially about earning the right and the respect to lead through direct individual involvement and action. People first follow the person, then the plan. Titles are granted but it is behavior that wins respect.
2. Inspire a Shared Vision: Leaders have visions and dreams of what could be. They have an absolute and total personal belief in those dreams, and they are confident in their abilities to make extraordinary things happen. Every organization, every social movement, begins with a dream. The dream or vision is the force that invents the future.
3. Challenge the Process: Leaders are not the only creators or originators of new products, services, or processes. In fact, it is more likely that innovation comes from customers, clients, vendors, people in labs, and people on the front lines. The leader's primary contribution is in the recognition of good ideas, the support of these ideas, and the willingness to challenge the system to get new ideas adopted.
4. Enable Others to Act: Grand dreams do not become significant realities through the actions of a single person. Exemplary leaders enable others to act. They foster collaboration and build trust. This sense of teamwork goes far beyond a few direct reports or close confidants. They engage all those who must make the project work - and in some way, all who must live with the results.
5. Encourage the Heart: It is part of a leader's job to show appreciation for people's contributions and to create a culture of celebration. Exemplary leaders encourage the heart of their constituents to carry on with genuine acts of caring. Encouragement is curiously serious business. It is how leaders visibly and behaviorally link rewards with performance.
Source: The Leadership Challenge, by James Kouzes and Barry Posner For this book and others on leadership, read about becoming a more effective leader .
James M. Kouzes: The Leadership Challenge, Third Edition
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