Leadership

Whether in a start-up or mature business venture, leaders at every level are an enabling force, helping people and organizations to perform and develop, which means that alignment must exist between the people's needs and the aims of the organization. Traditional concepts of there being a single leader of an organization or team who is the directing chief at the top of a hierarchy is an incomplete appreciation of what true leadership must be.  It is also inaccurate to believe any effective leader in an organization can be autonomous for leadership in the modern age requires attitudes and behaviors that characterize and relate to humanity.

         There are just two things that can be controlled in an organization, the people you allow to work with you and the culture you allow to exist for them to work in.  Great leaders at any level surround themselves with people who are leaders themselves.  They also know that their number one job is to teach leadership behavior to those that work both for and with them.  Therefore, effective leaders are creating a culture of employees that learn and exhibit leadership behaviors.  They know that not everyone will be the head of a group or company, but they also understand that the easiest groups to lead are those that consistently understand and practice the same behaviors as the leaders.  In that type of group or organization, everyone can see the vision that has been created and understand the part they play in making it happen. In addition, they are willing to take ownership and responsibility for their part, no matter how large or small. They become a leader of themselves, developing the behaviors to lead others in the future.

         Leadership is special compared to any other role you might have because of the unique responsibility it carries for people.  In fact, people see someone as a leader primarily because people trust and respect them rather than for the skills they possess.  The essence of leadership is to understand that the main function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.  Management is distinctly different than leadership.  It is predominately about process and relies heavily on tangible measurable capabilities such as planning, the use of organizational roles and systems, and the use of appropriate communications methods.  On the other hand, leadership is about behavioral characteristics and attitude qualities rather than management processes.  To be an effective leader you need to be able to articulate a compelling vision then motivate and inspire others to see that it is implemented.  A leader’s success is measured by the collective success of the people with whom they work rather than by their individual success.  Therefore, the behavior that created individual success does not necessarily create success as a leader.

         Good leaders develop through a never-ending commitment to self-improvement. That means a continual commitment to improve their leadership skills so they can help those they lead to improve as well. To inspire your fellow workers into higher levels of performance or teamwork requires being an influencer rather than the traditional command-and-control type. It does not come naturally but is acquired through learning and practice.