Exceptional Leadership Inspires the Best Effort in Others
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There is a steady stream being written and taught about leadership these
days. There are tips about leadership, courses about leadership, books,
retreats, and continuing education - all focused on leadership. While all of
this material is useful and can certainly enhance one's leadership knowledge,
for the most part it avoids asking and answering two questions:
1) Why does better leadership make a difference? , and 2) How does better
leadership achieve those differences?
We all know we're "supposed" to work to be better leaders, but why does it
matter, what impact does it have, and how does this all work?
Whenever I ask the "Why" question, the answers that come to the mind of most
people are something like "better leadership creates more productivity, higher
profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, more loyalty… you get the
picture. But these responses bring us to the real question which is, "How does
better leadership create those things? How does being a better leader lead to
more productivity, higher profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction,
more loyalty?" It is the answers to these two questions which elevate us from
simply learning and understanding better leadership principles to pursuing a
course of action which transforms us and our leadership abilities into something
that really makes a difference.
I often suggest that my clients use their own experience as their best
example. Ask yourself when, during your career, you felt the most satisfied,
most productive, proudest, most focused, and most committed. When we reflect
back on those times, most of us would acknowledge that we didn't feel like we
did because our "leader" had made a good decision, or that they had gone through
"leadership training" (That term is in quotes because leaders need to be
developed, not trained.), or that their leaders were efficient, met their goals,
or had success in the past. No, typically we felt the way we did (satisfied,
productive, proud, focused, and committed) because of what we did - what we
accomplished. It all comes back to us and how we felt. It's generally not about
anything external - it comes down to our emotions. The key to exceptional
leadership, therefore, lies within our ability to relate effectively with people
and their emotions.
Imagine if everyone at work felt satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and
committed! What would the consequences be? The consequences would be that
everyone would create greater productivity, higher profits, lower turnover,
greater job satisfaction, and more loyalty! The key then, to better performance,
is helping people feel more satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and
committed. Notice the absence of any technical or intelligence issues? Notice
that we've haven't brought up the idea of "motivating" people? We haven't
touched on motivating people for one simple reason… people can't be motivated!
Trying to motivate someone is analogous to physically trying to get them to do
something they don't want to do. You won't succeed. What really works is when
we're self-motivated - when we do something because we want to. When we're
inspired, we enjoy our work. We're productive and proud of our efforts. We
remain focused and committed to the task at hand. In short, we put forth out
best effort.
Exceptional leadership, therefore, is leadership that inspires people to give
their best effort. Although, for a leader, being productive and having good time
management skills are important and necessary, they are not sufficient. Having
good judgment becomes increasingly important the higher in an organization we
rise, however it too is insufficient for truly effective leadership. Exceptional
leadership is about relating to people in such a way as to inspire them to give
their best effort - for themselves, their organization, their community, their
family, and/or their world.
How is this accomplished? The foundation of exceptional leadership - of
inspiring others - comprises thee areas - Effective Leadership Philosophies (for
yourself and your organization), Effective Purpose, Mission and Values, and
Effective People Skills.
* EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHIES
Leading by Example - Whether we acknowledge it or not, we always lead by
example. In our words (what we say or don't say), in our actions (what we do or
don't do), and in our expressions (what we show or don't show). The things we do
and say, during moments of "apparent insignificance", make an impression on
those around us.
Servant Leader Philosophies - In our leadership workshops, I'll ask
participants who the most important person is to a company. The answer, of
course, is the customer. The question that follows next is, "Who is the most
important person in the company to that customer?" Most people get that the
person most important to the customer is the one they come in contact with - the
"frontline". The question that follows is the real key to a better understanding
of servant leadership. This question is, "What, then, is the job of the manager
of those frontline people?" The job of the managers of the frontline folks is to
make their job as easy and as effective as possible so that the customer has the
best experience possible! If this leadership philosophy is adopted throughout an
organization, it ends up with an organizational chart that looks like an
inverted pyramid. It is an organization that acknowledges the importance of the
frontline and reflects the philosophy of service throughout.
* EFFECTIVE PURPOSE, MISSION AND VALUES
An organization which inspires the best effort in its people will attract the
kind of employees it wants and needs, and will retain them. It has a Purpose, a
Mission, and a set of Values that it lives by, it effectively communicates them,
and it measures its actions and decisions against them.
Purpose is the "WHY" of the equation. It defines why we do what we do. Each
decision and policy should take the company closer to achieving its "WHY". When
a company has a clearly defined purpose it begins to act as a magnet, attracting
the kind of people who will further the purpose; people who are like-minded. Not
only will having a purpose attract the right people, but it will also act to
retain them.
Mission is the "WHAT" of the equation. It defines what the company will be
doing to achieve its Purpose. A mission can be fairly narrow or be somewhat
broad. However, one that is too narrow can unduly restrict an organization from
considering opportunities that would otherwise be an excellent fit and one that
is too broad offers no guidance at all.
Values are the "HOW" of the equation. Values define how the Mission will be
carried out in an effort to achieve the Purpose. They define the "rules of the
game". Some of them will come to mind quite easily, things like honesty,
courtesy, kindness, and ethics. But some other important values will only
surface when brainstorming takes place - when different perspectives and voices
are heard.
* EFFECTIVE PEOPLE SKILLS
I'll often ask clients or workshop attendees for the traits of the best boss
they ever had and the traits of the worst boss. Inevitably, I'll get answers
like: (Best) respected my ideas, worked to develop me, challenged me, listened,
empowered me and let me make my own mistakes,… and (Worst) micro-managed, was
overly demanding, poor communicator, mistrustful, … What's interesting is that
in no case were the technical skills or the intelligence of a boss either
praised or condemned. All the notable traits, both good and bad, had to do with
people skills. The goal of effective people skills is good Relationship
Management. Relationship Management encompasses the ability to develop others,
inspire others, influence others, resolve conflict, and build teamwork and
collaboration.
CONCLUSION
The essence of exceptional leadership is the ability to inspire the best
effort in others. When people choose to give their best effort, satisfaction
increases, pride develops, innovation is born, productivity improves, stability
prevails, and profitability increases. The keys to a highly performing
organization are creating an inspiring environment and personally becoming an
exceptional leader. We can create an inspiring environment by adopting effective
leadership philosophies and clarifying a Purpose, Mission and set of Values. We
can personally become a more effective leader by honing and acquiring effective
people skills. Become a leader who inspires the best effort in others.
Copyright 2004 Exceptional Leadership, Inc.
Written by Michael Beck, President of Exceptional Leadership, Inc., a
leadership development and executive coaching firm dedicated to creating
exceptional leadership for higher profits and greater job satisfaction. Michael
can be reached at 877-977-8956 or
mbeck@xleaders.com, and you can learn more about the company and these ideas
at www.XLeaders.com.
