HOW TO BE A LEADER

What does it mean to be a good leader? To put it very simply, a good leader is someone who can persuade other people to follow him or her and then lead them in the right direction.

Characteristics of effective leaders

Some people define leaders by their characteristics, which could include: Confidence Integrity Energy and enthusiasm Resilience Consistency Adaptability The ability to inspire Vision Decisiveness

As I mentioned, a leader has to persuade others to follow, and some of the characteristics above are essential in persuading and influencing people. You tend to follow people who you feel are: Passionate Trustworthy Confident Competent Honest

However, one problem with focusing on personal qualities is that the list could be virtually endless and is also quite subjective. It can also be easy to focus too much on the personality of the leader rather than on what leaders actually do. There is a common image of the charismatic leader, who naturally commands respect and loyalty. Charismatic leaders may be good at getting people to follow them but they can still be ineffective if they dont take people in the right direction and do the right things. Their leadership can rely on personal loyalty, which can be undermined if their initial promise does not produce results. After all, you may begin to follow someone because they are passionate and confident but, if you start to doubt that they are taking you somewhere you want to go, or start to wonder whether they can actually deliver what they promised, then you may begin to waver in your support.
Alan Matthews www.manageleadsucceed.com 01564 770 436

What do leaders do?

So we also need to look at what leaders actually do rather than just at some innate qualities. Some typical actions of effective leaders would include: Creating and promoting a vision Developing a strategy Setting clear goals and expectations Focusing on moving forward rather than maintaining the status quo Making critical decisions Creating a defining culture or ethos for the organisation Creating and maintaining a strong team spirit amongst followers

One distinction often made between managers and leaders is that leaders spend more time on progress tasks, i.e. ones which take the organisation forward rather than just on maintenance tasks which keep things ticking over but dont move you forward.

Maintenance tasks :
are on-going, routine, repetitive won't drastically change the existing position tend to be obvious tend to get done first are ones which everyone can see need to be done are usually clear and well defined are easily justified are safe

These tasks are often those associated with administration or with achieving short term objectives.

Progress tasks :
are ones which move us towards a better or different position tend to be larger projects that we need to do in addition to our day-to-day work are usually new and uncertain therefore contain an element of risk tend to involve research, education, investigation, development, etc.

Progress tasks are associated with developing a vision, with long term strategy, with innovation.

Alan Matthews www.manageleadsucceed.com 01564 770 436

So leaders need to look beyond the everyday and have some picture of the future they are working towards. They need to take time to consider their goals, not just for themselves but for their organisation, and to see the big picture . They need to make decisions on a long term basis and to plan rather than just react to events. In the end, becoming a leader is really a mixture of developing and displaying certain personal qualities and spending time on certain types of tasks. It is also about being prepared to take responsibility, to make and stand by decisions and be the person where the buck stops if things dont work out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What to do next You may be in the very early stages of working out how to deal with some challenges facing your organisation. Or you may be quite clear about what you're looking for and almost ready to make a decision. Either way, the next step would be to contact me for an informal chat about what you're looking to achieve and what problems you're trying to deal with. You can also see whether you think there's enough of a fit between what you need and what I offer to move forward. If so, we could then arrange a FREE Management Effectiveness Assessment. This is a more in - depth conversation where I can learn more about your needs, objectives and priorities and the challenges or barriers which may be standing in the way of achieving what you want for your business or organisation. The benefit of this discussion to you would be:

to help you gain clarity about what you're trying to achieve to help you identify the likely causes of any problems you're facing and to identify the right level in your organisation at which those problems may be arising ( for example, if a team isn't performing as it should, does the team need help directly or does the problem lie with the manager, who needs to be able to lead and develop the team more effectively? ) to help you to see what sort of solutions would be most appropriate, e.g. whether you need training or coaching or some other form of support

This discussion could take place over the phone or face to face and usually takes about an hour. Whether or not you then decide to work with me, you'll be much clearer about what's needed and how to move forward from there. Of course, you may feel you're already clear about what you want, in which case please just give me a call and I'd be happy to discuss your needs with you in as much detail as you need. Call Alan Matthews on 01564 770 436 or email alan@manageleadsucceed.com

Alan Matthews www.manageleadsucceed.com 01564 770 436

The Book Of 100 Management Tips

For more great information to help you be a confident and successful manager, get your FREE copy of The Book Of 100 Management Tips. Just visit the website at www.ManageLeadSucceed.com to claim your copy.

Alan Matthews www.manageleadsucceed.com 01564 770 436