Ben Franklin said; tell me and I’ll forget, teach me, and I may remember, involve me and I’ll learn.

I mention that to say rather than simply give the answers, the Leader’s role should be to help their people find the answers for themselves. While giving the answers is better than giving no help at all, helping people to find the answers for themselves provides far more effective mentoring. This process enables so much more for the people in terms of their learning experience.

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One of the most important contributions psychology has made to the field of business has been in determining the key traits of acknowledged leaders. Psychological tests have been used to determine what characteristics are most commonly noted among successful leaders. This list of characteristics can be used for developmental purposes to help managers gain insight and develop their leadership skills.

The increasing rate of change in the business environment is a major factor in this emphasis on leadership. Whereas in the past, managers were expected to maintain the status quo in order to move ahead, new forces in the marketplace have made it necessary to expand this narrow focus. The new leaders of tomorrow are visionary. They are both learners and teachers. Not only do they foresee paradigm changes in society, but they also have a strong sense of ethics and work to build integrity in their organizations.

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Explaining and understanding the nature of good leadership is probably easier than practicing it. Good leadership requires deep human qualities, beyond conventional notions of authority.

In the modern age good leaders are an enabling force, helping people and organizations to perform and develop, which implies that a sophisticated alignment be achieved – of people’s needs, and the aims of the organization.

The traditional concept of a leader being the directing chief at the top of a hierarchy is nowadays a very incomplete appreciation of what true leadership must be.

Effective leadership does not necessarily require great technical or intellectual capacity. These attributes might help, but they are not pivotal.

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Different leaders have different ideas about leadership. For example, below you will see Jack Welch’s perspective which even though quite modern compared to many leaders, is nevertheless based on quite traditional leadership principles.

First here is a deeper more philosophical view of effective modern leadership which addresses the foundations of effective leadership.

A British government initiative surfaced in March 2008, which suggested that young people should swear an oath of allegiance to ‘Queen and Country’, seemingly as a means of improving national loyalty, identity, and allegiance.

While packaged as a suggestion to address ‘disaffection’ among young people, the idea was essentially concerned with leadership – or more precisely a failing leadership.

The idea was rightly and unanimously dismissed by all sensible commentators as foolhardy nonsense, but it does provide a wonderful perspective by which to examine and illustrate the actual important principles of leadership:

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I read this and wanted to share it with you because it makes a lot of sense.

First don’t confuse how much money one has as to his or her success!

These keys will not unlock any opportunities of success without first having a strong and unfailing Belief in yourself.

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There are some times in life when everything changes. For families, it’s the birth of the first child. For people in business, it’s moving from individual contributor to the Leader. Here are a dozen things to think about.

Being a Leader is a different kind of work, more like changing a career than changing jobs.

You may have been a leader before, but now being a leader is part of your job.

The team is now your destiny and you’re accountable for the way they accomplish the mission.

You will do better if you work to help your team members succeed.

You’re the default decider.

It can to take you more than a year to get effective and comfortable with the basics of the job.

It can take you a decade to master the job, without an effective development course.

You are responsible for your own development, no matter what programs your company has.

Some people who used to think you were competent now assume you’re a jerk.

Some people will laugh at your jokes who never used to think you were funny.

Conversations are your primary tool for getting your job done.

You will almost certainly not be ready for your new work, hardly anyone is, but you will be expected to perform right away.

Leader’s Bottom Line

When you become a Leader, your job is to help the team and the team members succeed. It can be the most rewarding job in the world, or a living hell. You make the choice.

As always, I hope that what I have shared helps you be more effective in Leadership. To learn more about this and many other areas of effective leadership, please explore our “Leadership in Action” multimedia training systems and the process we use to implement it into your organization.

To receive a pdf overview of this course, please email at [email protected] and request it

Sincerely,

Jim Strutton, CEO

Accountability Plus, Inc.

[email protected]

770-205-8171

© 2012 Accountability Plus, Inc.

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