What I have learned from my husband .... I also have learned Being a leader in any form I adhere these steps to my company business as an owner or just being myself and with people . 1. Identify Objectives Rule No. 1 in leadership is to settle on a worthy goal. Nothing is more disheartening than doing hard, dirty, dangerous work in support of fuzzy objectives that nobody can even articulate. In the military, leaders dont always get to choose their objectives, but they should advocate vehemently for objectives that are worth their soldiers efforts and risks. 2. Gather Intelligence Most military units have a person or a unit in charge of collecting and collating intelligence. In business, we might think of this as market research and competitive analysis; in athletics, we might think of scouting the competition. Regardless, a great leader works to find out what challenges his or her people will face before sending them into action. 3. Plan A Course Of Action Good planning starts with the objective and works backward to where you are now. Its easy to articulate but can be very difficult to do, which might be why so few would-be leaders actually do it. Instead, they pursue interesting or promising strategies without truly considering how or whether any particular action will lead to their ultimate goals. 4. Scrounge For Resources If you have every necessary asset to accomplish a goal when you first set out, either youre incredibly fortunate or you havent set your sights high enough. Truly great leaders know that pursuing worthy goals means pushing teams beyond their abilities and assets. Its why we say that true entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled. 5. Step To The Front Your team needs to know that youre even more committed to the objective than it is. That means standing up for it and being visible--literally in front of team members at times. Optics can be most important. Youre the leader. Act like it. 6. Encourage Your Team Optimism is a force multiplier. A team wont believe it succeed unless its leader believes it. So, acknowledge challenges and setbacks, but keep them in perspective. Unless youre convinced that your goal is now unattainable, dont let discouragement reign. (If you do become convinced that your goal is no longer attainable or worthwhile, go back to Rule No. 1!) 7. Correct When Wrong Leadership isnt about being liked. Its about acting in a way that engenders respect, which also means holding your team accountable. When individual team members fall short, its up to you as a great leader to correct them. Doing so in a constructive manner sends the message that you care about both your mission and your people. 8. Build Esprit De Corps You want your people to feel that their team is more than the sum of its parts. (Thats part of why most soldiers I know like the Armys current recruiting slogan, Army Strong, more than the previous one, An Army of One.) People also want to know that youll have their backs even if they fall short, simply because they are part of the team. 9. Mentor Your People Being a true leader means thinking long term and committing to your people even after theyre no longer part of your effort. That means offering mentorship and opportunities for them to grow. (I so love #9!!). 10. Exercise Body And Mind If you havent served in the military, youve at least seen the Hollywood version--soldiers working out together, running in formation, calling out cadences. Routine military workouts arent going to turn people into superstar athletes, but they do set the tone. Its hard to be a great leader if you dont take care of your mind and body. If anyone knows me (Candice and all the #monsterjamdivas they know I am a drill sgt. When it comes to nutrition and exercise!) 11. Communicate Effectively As a leader, your words are among your most important tools, so if youre not communicating, youre failing. If your team doesnt know its ultimate goal, or if it doesnt have a good understanding of the plan to get there, or if it doesnt appreciate how its personal contributions are vital, youre probably doing something wrong as a leader. I see this as almost a lost art. 12. Sacrifice As Necessary When its cold or wet or dangerous, soldiers want to know that their leader isnt asking them to do anything he or she wont do himself or herself. This is a universal leadership principle. If youre telling your team members that they have to work weekends or tightening your departments budget, youd better be willing to share the pain. And this also means getting paid what you are worth. :) 13. Review And Adapt As a leader, you dont just set a goal, devise a plan, give an order, and sit back. Instead, its up to you to check progress continually. If things arent working, figure out why, and make a change. Youve probably heard the Albert Einstein quote: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So dont do that! 14. Admit Mistakes If your team makes a mistake, as a leader its your mistake. The buck stops with you. Take responsibility, and embrace it. We need to see more of this everywhere. :) 15. Check Small Things You cant possibly check everything, so instead, create a culture that suggests you could wind up checking just about anything. Your team members--whether they are working peers or the staff of a marketing department--will take their cues from you. You need to be able to rely on them to follow up and to ensure that the things they can see are working correctly. 16. Find Reasons To Praise Its remarkable how just a few good words from someone you respect can inspire you to work harder and achieve more. Great leaders know this, so theyre always on the lookout for opportunities to offer words of praise and encouragement. The caveat is that these have to be sincere remarks, which in turn means you have to know your people well and care about them. 17. Take Time Away You need time away from your work and your team in order to see things clearly 18. Thank And Appreciate Thanking people is different from simply offering encouragement. It means pointing out the connection between their individual effort and how it affects the ultimate objective. Its a basic human need to want to do good work that means something. Show people that you see their work and value it. 19. Exercise Judgment At a basic level, your good judgment is one of the only things you have to offer your team members. They need to know that youre weighing the cost of their efforts against the impact on the final objective--and whether the final objective remains worth it. If youre asking them to do something, youd better believe its worthwhile and will work. 20. Show Compassion Your mission is important (otherwise it shouldnt be your mission). However, its not the only thing going on in your peoples lives. More than that, people screw up--and you will screw up, too (see Rule No. 14). So, although you want to hold people to high standards, you also want to embrace your humanity. People arent machines; they need to be treated like people. 21. Recommit To The Life Smart leaders know that external rewards are rare and often unsatisfactory. Medals and thanks are simply not enough. Similarly, money alone is rarely enough to make people happy after working hard in business in entrepreneurship. Thus, if your work is not its own reward, you will probably never be truly happy. Ask yourself often whether you truly believe in what youre doing. If the answer is no, then find a way to change it. 22. Go To Sleep Content Lack of sleep will ruin your life. Worse than that, it will make you a less effective leader. So, recognize that sometimes the secret to being a more effective leader isnt always to work harder; it can sometimes require you to get away, get some rest, and get recharged. If youre committed to what youre doing and fulfilled by it, youll sleep better and be more effective. 23. Leap Out Of Bed See Rule No. 21 and Rule No. 22. If you dont leap out of bed each morning eager to get to work and lead your team, it probably deserves a better leader.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 17:01:28 +0000
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