12 Most Fantastic F Facets of Great Leaders. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~ John Quincy Adams Notice that this quote involves action. Speaking great words may make you a poet, a master orator, or a visionary. Applying decisive actions in support of those great words will make you a respected leader! This post continues my Letters of the Alphabet Leadership series. You can read the 12 Most Exemplary “E” Embodiments of Excellent Leaders to catch up. 1.
I enjoy so many of the synonyms for facile: accomplished, adroit, agile, brilliant, gifted… and the list goes on. 2. One of the quickest ways for leaders to lose their credibility is for them to develop a reputation for playing favorites. 3. OK, I chose this adjective for one of our Managing Partners: Peggy Fitzpatrick. 4. Great leaders embrace the small successes and shrug off the minor failures with a farsighted view on long-term company success. 5. James Russell Lowell said “Fate loves the fearless.” 6. 7. 8. 10 Proven Practices for More Productive Leadership. Leadership is a verb, and productive leadership is an art. The art part is when you use your experience and judgment to apply proven practices to the situation you are in to produce effective results. Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/Hiob While you can always wing it, or luck into success, you can use patterns and practices to find the shortcuts and make your success more repeatable.
As a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft I’ve lead distributed teams around the world for more than ten years. I like to think of the Program Manager role as a technical Entrepreneur with an interesting blend of customer, business, and technical perspective. As a Program Manager, my job is to take on big challenges, build a team of smart people, and drive projects from cradle to grave. It’s one of the toughest jobs, you’ll ever love. I’d like to share with you ten proven practices for more productive leadership. Know what problem you are trying to solve. What does longevity have to do with leadership? Update: Sarah and I are headed to the hospital this morning!
We will post some pictures of our baby boy asap! Longevity is not leadership. Leadership is leadership. And longevity is longevity. Don’t get me wrong - I love hearing about leaders who launch organizations and serve them for 20, 30, or 40 years. One of my best friends is one of the most loyal people I know. My father has been serving the same organization for more than 25 years. Organizations and teams can benefit significantly from a leader who communicates and implements bold, compelling vision through changing seasons over a long period of time.
Yet I’ve learned that although some executives man the helm of an organization for a long period of time, they are not always leading. Self-preservation A leader of a large organization once confessed to me, My goal is to survive a presidency. Is that leadership? It certainly sounds more like self-preservation than leadership. At it’s core leadership involves change. Short-term roles. Trust: The Foundation of Leadership. According to their wonderful book “The Leadership Challenge,” leadership research experts Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner state that “credibility (or Trust) is the foundation of leadership.” The research simply confirms what we have all experienced in our lives. Without trust, you can’t lead and you won’t follow! We’ve all heard that old saying, “people don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.” And if you’re a good leader, you understand that without trust, you have nothing. The depth of each relationship is directly equal to the amount of trust that is in that relationship.
Trust is the basis of ALL relationships, and as a leader you must understand this in order to be effective. I’ve made a few observations about trust in leadership that I’d like to share with you. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it all too often which is what led me to jot down the following: Trust is a Two-Way Street: In order to be trusted, you must trust those you lead. Trust is Mission Focused, not Self-Seeking. Important Lessons I’ve Learned As A Leader. Many of us have heard the advice from the likes of John Maxwell, Steve Jobs, Stephen Covey, and others.
However, sometimes for the rising or aspiring leader it’s practical advice that really makes an impact. We all have times when we miss obvious things we should do as leaders. When faced with difficult situations, there will be an “a-ha” moment when we’re reminded of a simple, yet valuable leadership traits we didn’t exhibit. Good leaders know how to lead and when to lead, but great leaders do it consistently. Here are twelve “a-ha” moment leadership lessons that I’ve learned over the years: 1. People are the most valuable asset that any leader has in their organization. 2. Politics are a reality in any leadership position, but overall they really do suck. 3. Your have to have vision in order to lead anything. 4. Caught you off guard a bit, heh? 5. I am constantly reading, tweeting and listening to podcast/audiobooks. 6. What are your team members’ passions about? 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 12 Most Captivating "C" Characteristics of Leaders. The letter “C” is chock full of cool characteristics to define great leaders.
This 12 Most post continues my Letters of the Alphabet Leadership series. You can read the 12 Most Bodacious “B” Behaviors of Great Leaders to catch up. 1. Calming Leaders should celebrate the highs and be consoling during the lows. They should spend the rest of their time as the calm and competent captains steering the organization. 2. Canny leaders are both prudent and shrewd. 3. The Art of Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki remains one of my favorite books. 4. People want to follow leaders with ceaseless energy and belief in their vision. 5. Leaders are charitable with their time, their talents, and their praises. 6. Classy means elegant and stylish. 7. It would defeat the purpose to have a captivated audience in awe of your ceaseless work ethic…and then be incoherent!
8. Employees can sense when they are working with a resume-padding, upwardly-mobile manager. 9. 10. 11. It is hard to hit a moving target. 12.