Leadership

I was reading News the other day and it amazed me as to how many ‘Leaders’ in the world of Politics, Sport and Business varied so much in their approach. This in turn set me thinking about this article so, to start your own understanding and development, first appreciate your own ‘thinking’ of what a good leader by jotting down a list of up to 10 words or mini-statements as to what stands out as the definition of a good leader.

You can be a cracking manager without necessarily having leadership qualities, however, it’s imperative that you have excellent management traits to become an outstanding leader.

The processes are the stepping stones to get to the objective. Without these, a leader is someone who leads aimlessly so here’s a dozen ways that Coaching to Success focus on in areas for improvement:

1. Vision – Being clear and remain focused on final objective.
2. Motivation – Stirring things up and develop this.
3. Rapport – Relate. Get engaged.
4. Role Models – Who inspires you?
5. SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & time-bound.
6. Proactive – Set the agenda, don’t wait for others to set it!
7. Reward – Introduce a ‘healthy’ culture of rewards.
8. Procrastination – It may be more interesting but if not relevant, don’t let it distract you!
9. Respect – Show this when others bring forward either concerns or ideas.
10. Empower – Don’t always take control. Relinquish some responsibilities.
11. Positivity – Even when under pressure, seek to give positive as opposed to suppressive negative feedback.
12. Delegate – Understand others can do it too!

Convinced you excel in each area? Go on, I dare you to put out a 360 feedback to all those around. An anonymous tick box asking them to score each out of 10 (that’s a possible 120 maximum). Compare your own score to theirs. If you score less than 90, may I suggest you consider ways to improve your approach when it comes to Leadership!

Rather than being robotic in our methods, here are 5 ways to define a good leader:

1. Responsibility – Takes while nourishing the team’s interest in results through participation.
2. Succinct – Relay information without attaching emotion.
3. Values driven – Acknowledge other’s values while striving towards the ultimate objective
4. Proactive – Including understanding negative issues raised. Seek reasons and not simply dismiss out of hand
5. Encourage – Portray yourself as someone who seeks new ideas and involvement. You’ll be surprised as to how others can see things that you may well have missed!

Don’t expect miracles overnight. Remain patient throughout as it takes some time for new methods to be implemented and accepted, besides, there will be old habits needing to be realigned. It’s not a simple journey otherwise the road would have already been taken!

There’s also other barriers such as beliefs pertaining to being too busy to delegate or to be a leader! Remember, leadership helps you become the baton holder and you lead your orchestra to harmonious music, hmm, maybe not the best analogy but you can see where I’m coming from.

Coaching to success have helped numerous individuals and organisations improve performance by ‘Leading’ their teams and the first step is to simply give us a call on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to discuss how brilliant Leadership results in exceptional returns. If you’re looking to Grow quicker than your rivals, we’re affiliated to the Growth Accelerator scheme, so some businesses can obtain government funding too!

Many years ago, I foolishly believed that only I knew everything and could do the task effectively whereas others who reported to me weren’t up to it or to the same standard. Surprising, the company grew once I started to delegate, trust those around me and act like the director that I’d been employed to be. Does this possibly ring true to you or do you recognise the traits?

Often we feel like we should be seen to be working with massive workloads, however, efficiency is all about insuring the operation runs smoothly. If you don’t delegate tasks that others can do, it builds distrust, feeling of reduced worth and despondency.

Here are 5 simple steps to help you along this path of delegation:

1. WEAKNESS – It is not a sign of weakness to delegate. Know your people and show trust. Maybe there’s feeling of shame, guilt or wanting your own badge of honour showing what a martyr you are. Be truthful with yourself as to the reason why you don’t delegate, it IS NOT a weakness to delegate but shows signs of trust and responsibility… ok, stick by your thoughts there’s no one responsible enough to hand it to! Been there, seen it, even got the badge and then proved totally wrong.
2. DUMP THE EGO! – No, you’re not the only person in the whole world that can do that job. Ok, it may not be done to the standard YOU BELIEVE to be correct but we’re all different and with guidance and training, someone else can do specific roles and possibly even have the ability to do it faster or even better than you – there’s a thought!
3. BE OBJECTIVE NOT PROCEDURAL – Two forms of management, Micro and hands off, both equally incorrect! Delegate the task with the desired outcome you’re looking to achieve. Demonstrate how to do this and be approachable. Indicate that they can do it as they wish but the outcome with the objective being what is at stake. Set SMART goals. Allow sufficient time for them to be innovative in what they are doing or learn their own way.
4. PATIENCE – … “my backside, I’m gonna kill someone!” They’re not likely to get it right first time without making errors? This is the learning curve. Don’t assume it will be carried out perfectly first time round as if they already have a track record of success, this isn’t their fault it’s yours for assuming too much without giving the FULL guidance and support needed in the first instance.
5. RECOGNITION – When everything goes well, bestow credit where it’s due. Superiors will see how well you manage your team/staff, your delegate will see their worth in not only your eyes but the firm/company’s too. Notoriety is a reward in its own right. Say Thank You and truly show your gratitude, this feeling of appreciation will certainly do you well when the next task comes along.

Coaching to Success wok with Directors and Managers to help understand how to let tasks go enabling concentration on what they should be doing. If this is an area you feel you or members of your team would benefit from, take that first step by speaking with Neil (07761 187238) or throw him an email at info@coachingtosuccess.co.uk… We’re affiliated to the Growth Accelerator scheme and are here to help.