LEADING OTHERS
Accept the Leadership Challenge
There are reciprocal relations between leaders and followers. Leaders must be going somewhere AND they must be able to persuade the team to go with them.
There are two maxims: you cannot lead where you are not willing to go AND you cannot go without leading others as you walk alone.
You are on stage every day. Use your influence at the right time and for the right reasons. Strive for leading not just managing. It is about more than a process; we are leading people.
Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, often says, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” That is the right mind-set for winning. Taking responsibility for your life, your actions, your mistakes, and your growth puts you in a place where you are always able to learn and often able to win. In sports, that is called being in the right position.
Say the following, “I am the leader. I am in charge, and I am responsible.”
Colin Powell defined the challenge. What makes a person a great leader, “A person who understands that they’re leading followers. A person who understands that they are there to put a group of human beings into work that has value, that has a purpose, and that the leader will give them the inspiration needed to achieve that purpose, and the leader will make sure they have everything they need to get the job done." (Source, How to Lead)
Risk
Conrad Hilton, hotel executive said, “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
We must know when we initiate action. Action = risk + danger.
Catherine Brunt in an online article asked, “If you weren’t scared what would you do?” Use the rocking chair test. What would your 90-year-old self, looking back on your own life, advise you to do in the moment?
Risk it. Climb the mountain of leadership. The man on top of the mountain did not fall there. The right man seizes the moment.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you do. So, throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore! Dream! Discover! (Mark Twain)
Finally, do not worry about failing. An unknown person said, “If at first you don’t succeed, you are running about average.”
Push it to the Floor.
There is no time to ease up. You can never rest on what you have achieved in the past. You always have to improve. (Jocko Willink, Leadership Strategy and Tactics)
Never accept the level of leadership you have.
Live. Truly live. Captain B McCrea in the movie Wall E said, “I don’t want to survive. I want to Live.”
Execute
Leadership is necessary. Leaders are the ones who dream the dreams. Leaders are the ones who are the visionaries. They are the ones that have to answer the hardest questions within the outfit. They deal with the most complicated of issues. There is both risk and exhilaration in the full view that they have in mind, for they are the ones that are out front and continually address the perspective, where are we are going.
Begin by setting a clear objective. Setting and presenting clear objectives to your team regarding the successful completion of a particular project excludes misconception that can decelerate the performance and productivity level of your team.
Once team members understand and concur with the objectives set by you, they put their full effort into accomplishing such goals.
Persevere through Failure
You will not win every time. You will not achieve success with every follower. Sometimes you will fail.
- General Washington lost five of seven battles. He fought with untrained, undisciplined soldiers.
- Ulysses Grant failed in business and struggled with alcohol.
- Lincoln failed in business. He lost several elections. In his first run for elected office, he finished eighth out of thirteen candidates.
Failure is a powerful force in the making of a leader. The failure itself is not the issue; it’s what failure leads to that is so determinative in leadership development.
Leaders are not people who escape failure, but people who overcome adversity. Their lives confirm the axiom: “A mistake is an event, the full benefit of which has not yet been turned to your advantage.”
Boldly Confront Conflict
The leadership challenge will lead to inevitable conflict.
In any way of life, conflicts are bound to arise. However, to be able to deal with conflicts effectively, a leader should have keen understanding of how to communicate and work with all types of people.
Be able to address the specific needs of people on your teams. Be honest and straightforward as a leader. Refuse to be biased. Our followers need to know that their leader has the heart to embrace a challenge and the guts not to break down in the face of adversity.
