What Do Good Leaders Do?
In my experience as an employee of organizations, and as a coach and teacher of leaders the past 7-1/2 years, I have come to the following simple conclusion:
Leadership makes or breaks an organization, community, or group.
Many of us have worked for, or followed, both good and bad leaders in the past. There is a world of difference in our experience between one and the other - often the difference between staying and leaving.
If you look at what leaders get paid to do, it boils down to mostly talking and listening. In short, leaders get paid to have EFFECTIVE CONVERSATIONS. I offer this model of leadership as a guide for you to assess your own leadership skills. This model is adapted from a paper by Cary Prejean, CPA, of Financial Design, Inc. entitled Leadership and Team Building. Notice that most of these steps are conversational in nature.
Good leaders do the following:
1. Listen to the concerns (what's missing?) of the people that make up the organization and customers of the organization.
2. Develop a vision (for the future) and mission (for the present) for the organization. (Generate "what could be" and "what we do now" out of "something's missing"; only possible by doing Step 1).
3. Declare the vision/mission to the organization. (The vision/mission is an invitation in which people see their concerns addressed in a way that was not available for them before the vision/mission was declared).
4. Declare the organization that is going to achieve the vision/mission.
5. Commit themselves to the production that’s necessary to achieve the vision/mission.
6. Systematically enroll others (followers, other leaders) in the vision/mission by addressing other people's concerns.
7. Act consistently with the vision/mission to build trust in the community or organization.
8. Manage moods and emotions masterfully. (Leaders are masters at producing social moods, moods that live in a whole community).
9. Make alliances.
10. Take care of people’s careers.
I invite you to use this model to make a quick assessment of your own leadership skills.
Which of these steps are you doing well?
Which steps do you need to work on and what new actions do you need to take to improve?
Leadership is a great responsibility and powerful leadership requires enormous commitment and courage. I acknowledge those who have chosen to take on a leadership role in any area of their life, and I hope this model can support you in being more effective in that role.
Upcoming Executive Coaching Program with Tennessee Coaches Alliance
The Tennessee Coaches Alliance is bringing in John Lazar on September 9th, and if you're interested in learning more about executive coaching, you don't want to miss this! John is a nationally known and respected executive coach. Check out the Program Description for more details. We hope to see you there!
Please don't hesitate to call or e-mail me if you want to learn more about personal coaching, executive coaching, or creating a custom workshop for your organization or group.
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