20 Leadership Experts
Share
Their Best Leadership Tip
Trust what these leaders say about good leadership. They are experts on the topic
Good leaders all
have one thing in common: They know how to seek advice. It's a bit
like parenting. No one who raises a child for the first time
understands the job perfectly. You have to keep learning and growing.
These experts know the drill. They've written about their experiences
in leadership, spoken in front of mass audiences, and honed their
skills over many years. Here are their single best tips, exclusive
just to this list.
1. Don't hide anything from employees
"Your
team can tell if you're hiding something. It makes them uncertain or
suspicious, both of which you don't want. Lay out the rules of the
game as you see them with your team. Let the team know where they
are; work on a plan to go forward. Keep individuals up to date on
their status as it relates to the group. All this forces you to have
and share your vision, which is what makes you a great leader in the
first place."
Tony
Scherba, President and Founder of Yeti
2. Show empathy in tangible ways
"You
can't just be sympathetic and try to be liked every time someone
comes to you with a problem or concern. But you need to be able to
understand the problems, as well as that person's point of view. You
can't just dismiss them out of hand. And if you're able to see things
from their point of view and truly be empathetic, you'll be able to
frame your response in a way that will prove you've heard them, and
also answer their specific concerns. They might not always be happy,
but it will lead to more acceptance if you have to tell them
something they're not eager to hear."
John
Turner, the CEO of UsersThink
3. Learn how to lead the younger generation
"Leaders
of younger generations are from the most social generation in
history. They are in constant contact with peers and family through
iMessages and social media sites. But they are also highly isolated
because so much of their relational contact is through technology.
This has led to poor people skills, low emotional intelligence, and
the inability to handle interpersonal challenges. Leaders should work
to build relationships one-on-one. A helpful way to do so: Join
industry or peer communities to take advantage of meeting and
networking in person. Not only will this help their professional
development but also help them learn to communicate on a level
playing field with those of various generations and years of
experience."
Tim
Elmore, a speaker, author and president of Growing
Leaders
4. Don't be afraid of the truth
"Be
willing to look at the truth, no matter how uncomfortable. That
includes truths about yourself, your product, your people. If your
product stinks and your people aren't performing, pretending that
just ain't so won't change anything. At the same time, don't beat
yourself up. Just look at it, address it, and move on."
Katherine
Hosie, Powerhouse
Coaching Inc.
5. Think like Swiss cheese
"Be
candid with yourself and acknowledge what you know and don't know.
Select supportive team members who possess the skills necessary to
take the business in the right direction. See yourself as a piece of
Swiss cheese--know your holes and add others (slices) whose
substance, when layered on your slice, eventually creates a solid,
firm unified block of cheese. A single slice of cheese with its many
holes can easily be pulled apart, but a solid block is very difficult
to pull apart."
Richard
J.Avdoian, the President and CEO of Midwest
Business Institute, Inc.
6. Be human, not humanoid
"Humanoids
show (and feel) no emotion at all. Ever. They are incapable of it.
You may think there is no room for emotion in the workplace, but
think again. There's already emotion there--too bad much of it is
negative. Let some positive emotion flow between you and your people.
Get to know them better ... and let them get to know you better.
People will go to the wall for people they know, like, admire, and
respect. But if they don't know the first thing about you (or vice
versa), how can they feel as though they know you, or have a
relationship or anything at all in common with you? Humans truly
connect with each other on a personal level, not a business level.
You don't have to be "best buds," but you must have at
least a few human elements in common in order to effectively work
together to accomplish common business goals. One way to be more
human is to realize that simply saying, 'Hello, how are you?' each
morning does not constitute a relationship. Get out and talk with
different people occasionally; ask about their families, pets,
hobbies ... and share yours. Remember their names (and the names of
their significant others/children/pets); ask about a tough situation
they've gone through. When they know you really care about them, they
will care more about you, and this will bridge the divide and help
eliminate the 'Us' and 'Them' mentality."
Sandy
Geroux, the CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) of WOWplace,
International
7. Never forget your responsibility
"My
best leadership tip is to think of leadership as a responsibility as
much as an opportunity. Effective leaders understand that they are
responsible for everyone that they are leading, and consider that
responsibility as the main concern of their position. If you ever
lose empathy for, and dedication to, the people you are leading, you
are not being a leader."
Michael
Talve, the Founder and Managing Director of The
Expert Institute
8. Get comfortable in dynamic environments
"In
today's dynamic and uncertain business environment, the most
successful firms are able to act quickly and decisively in response
to change. Strong self-efficacy, high achievement, autonomy, and the
ability to take decisive actions in the face of uncertainty and
dynamic environments are critical capabilities for an organization.
Preparing individuals to evaluate a dynamic environment and act in
the face of uncertainty is a particular strength of the military and
it should be a priority for executive training programs. It all
begins with having a clear vision and a specific mission that
empowers people to act in alignment with the company objectives."
Damian
McKinney, the CEO of McKinney
Rogers and
author of The Commando Way
9. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you
"Leaders
find success when they create teams composed of people who are
experts in their areas, and many times, smarter than the leader who's
hiring them. Great leaders give them room to grow and innovate. These
are the leaders who people want to work for. Unlike the micromanager
leader whose insecurity leads them to create teams that include
people 'just like them.' These teams may make the leader feel
comfortable, versus challenged for the purposes of creating the best
work."
Tatiana
Lyons, the Principal and Owner of Your
Creativity Leads
10. Take someone in training along with you on mundane tasks
"Several
years ago I had to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my
license--a task that sometimes could mean three to four hours of
waiting. There was a college student who was working for our church
as an intern for a college credit. He wanted to learn the ins and
outs of church leadership, so I asked him to come along to the DMV.
Sure enough, it was a three-hour wait, but I spent that time
answering all of the intern's questions about leadership. It was real
quality time to invest in the young man. Now when I have a task that
will involve a long wait time (such as going to the DMV or doctor's
office or waiting for a plane flight or going on a long ride in the
car, etc.), I take along a developing leader to invest in him or
her."
Chris
Elrod, the Senior Pastor at Impact!
Church
11. Let employees in on your vision
"Be
as transparent as you can with all of your team members. The more
they know, the more you all are part of the same dream and vision and
you'll all work harder to get where you need to go as a team. If
you're keeping information from your team members, they'll lose trust
and start to feel like they're not contributing to the bigger
picture. That's when they look elsewhere."
John
Hingley, co-founder of startup Dasheroo
12. Honor the past, built for the future
"When
you're leading a new team or joining a new organization, honor the
new team/organization's past, and then build them a bridge to the
future. Too many leaders inherit a new team and want to tell everyone
how much success they had in the past, and how good their old
organization/team was. When leaders disrespect their new team, team
members start asking each other the following questions: If your old
organization or team was so good, why did you leave? If your old
organization is so good, why don't you go back?"
Peter
Barron Stark, a consultant, speaker, and author
13. Have a clear vision and communicate it to your team
"Know
what your future looks like, feels like, and acts like. It has to be
a compelling vision that gets your people excited and focused. Latch
onto that picture as though it has already happened. Transport
yourself into the future so you can see it with picture clarity.
Share it with your team so they can see it and do what it takes to
achieve it."
Brian
Scudamore, the Founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, WOW
1 DAY PAINTINGand You
Move Me
14. Make it a priority to develop your current leaders, nurture your future leaders, and hire great leaders
"Strong
leadership is one of the key pillars of success at any organization.
People aren't necessarily born with great leadership skills. As such,
organizations can't just sit back and hope people will be great
leaders. Leaders need to be shaped and molded. And by leaders, I
don't just mean executives--I mean managers at every level of the
organization. Too often frontline managers are overlooked when it
comes to leadership development, when the reality is that 70 percent
to 80 percent of the workforce reports to frontline managers. The
results of a study we did with Harvard Business Review Analytic
Services reveals 79 percent of global executives believe lack of
frontline leadership capability negatively impacts company
performance. As such, it's critical to the success of any
organization that these people be given the tools, resources, and
development to succeed."
Dominique
Jones, the Vice President of Human Resources for Halogen
Software
15. Always lead with character
"Leaders
with character are highly effective. They have no need to pull rank
or resort to command and control to get results. Instead, they're
effective because they're knowledgeable, admired, trusted, and
respected. This helps them secure buy-in automatically, without
requiring egregious rules or strong oversight designed to force
compliance."
Frank
Sonnenberg, author of the book Follow
Your Conscience
16. Nurture a better self-awareness
"Leadership
has got nothing to do with figuring it out and everything to do with
feeling it out. It is an 'awareness,' and for so long in my
businesses, I too was not aware. Leaders aren't born; they evolve.
And to evolve you must first be self-aware. To develop leadership
skills, allow yourself to be open, honest, and real. Be confident,
not arrogant. Confident leaders lead through values, vision, and
vulnerability. Arrogant leaders lead through fear, blame, and ego."
Troy
Hazard, a TV host, business owner, former Global President of the
Entrepreneurs' Organization, and author of the book Future-Proofing
Your Business
17. Good leadership is about good alignment
"If
you think about achieving your vision, it's like climbing a mountain.
Executives and managers think they have to be all buttoned up and
have the path up the mountain all mapped out, then they shout the
directions back down to their organization. But really, leadership is
about alignment, and that means we can achieve a lot more if we all
go up that mountain together."
Sonya
Shelton, founder and owner of Executive
Leadership Consulting
18. It's not about you
"Repeat
the words, 'It's not about me!' every day, multiple times a day.
Don't make your leadership about being in charge, being right,
getting promoted, or looking the best. Make leadership about the
cause of the organization, serving the legitimate needs of those
you're leading, and not taking yourself so darn seriously. You'll
have people lining up to work for and with you and the results will
follow."
Jeff
Harmon, author of The
Anatomy of the Principled Leader and
founder ofBrilliance
Within Coaching and Consulting
19. Use the right posture for leadership
"Your
posture and body language needs to be intentional and consistent.
Always be aware of your posture when you are sitting, standing and
walking. Roll shoulders up, back, and down. Straighten your spine;
leaders don't slouch. Nor do they intimidate with off-putting body
language such as crossed arms, puffed out chest and finger waving.
Align your appearance, head-to-toe, with how you wish to be known.
Aligning your appearance also means dressing the part head-to-toe.
This includes wardrobe, haircut, eyeglasses and even shoes. Leaders
look the part--not like they just rolled out of bed. A pressed dress
shirt or wool sweater, well-fitting trousers, leather shoes and belt
is a good uniform to adopt. A tie and/or sport jacket give extra
bonus points for executive presence. Update your eyeglasses every
other year and get a good haircut. Dress, head-to-toe, as the leader
you want to be."
Marian
Rothschild,
a Certified Personal Image Consultant and best
selling author.
20. Be a curious leader
"When
we are curious with others, we learn, we collaboration, and we
innovate. When leaders aren't curious, they tend to judge, tell,
blame, and even shame without realizing it. This creates conflict,
frustration, narrows perspectives and opportunities, and prohibits
collaboration, innovation, and understanding. Based on our 10 years
working with leaders, we know that they know they need a new language
to be successful; however, they don't know how to access it.
Curiosity allows you to access that language to meet the leadership
needs of the 21st century."
Kirsten
Siggins, the Co-founder of Institute
of Curiosity and
a Certified Executive Coach. Co-author of
BY JOHN BRANDON
Contributing
Editor, Inc.com
http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/20-leadership-experts-share-their-best-leadership-tip.html?cid=em01020week50e
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