Principles of Leadership

Many wish to be leaders. Few understand the true essence of Leadership, which is a compound of four separate ingredients,each one necessary and absolutely vital to all of the others. Those ingredients are: - Clear vision - Execution of tasks - Objectivity - Loyalty Vision means one has the ability to see beyond today and its challenges, to set and pursue long term goals,yet stay in the moment enough to accomplish daily results. Vision and action, therefore, must always co-exist dynamically. Vision can be created from awareness, but it must continuously be modified by new perceptions. As one grows, as the world changes, one's vision will require adjustments. Therefore, the essence of vision is to be strategically flexible, and yet, the awareness behind one's vision is fundamentally unchangeable.

Vision without action is depression waiting to occur. Action without vision is too mechanical to be enjoyed. "Microwave thinking" (Seeking immediate gratification vs. allowing time by cultivating a great strategy) is the opposite of vision. When vision is present, and combined with a great product, service, or marketing strategy, leadership has begun and success is going to follow. However, one of the most important facets of leadership is the leader's ability to execute.

Execution originates in decisiveness, but must include the ability to follow through on all aspects of that decision, long after the initial excitement of the moment has passed. Generally speaking, leaders make quick decisions and stay with them long-term. Non-leaders take a long time to make decisions, then shortly after, pull back from fully implementing what they have decided upon.

This is not to say that leaders never change their mind. Everyone has the right to change their mind, and surely a leader must claim that right whenever necessary. But leaders change their mind not because of fear, but rather because of new intuition, or insight. New challenges can occur, and may get in the way of execution, yet a leader is proactive and solution-oriented, rather than reactive and problem-oriented.

Objectivity is the ability to see things as they are, including one's self. It must go hand in hand with allowing oneself to create solutions when necessary. A leader is very objective, very open, when it comes to noticing his or her shortcomings. They are unafraid of looking objectively because they know that their shortcomings don't define who they are. Rather, they are what she or he must choose to work on, within.

Therefore, objective leaders are self-correctors. They are their own best students. To be a self-corrector is not the same as undergoing self-criticism, or self-judgment. It is a process of maintaining clarity, not slowing down for blame. Self criticism gets in the way of self correction because it further clouds the mind of the individual, blocking the clarity that is required for being an effective self corrector.

A leader's deepest loyalty is to his or her vision. Second is their loyalty to remaining patient while pursuing that vision. Third is one's loyalty to others who are inspired to be part of fulfilling that vision. Within true loyalty there is no room for guilt. Those who try to secure the loyalty of others based on fear and guilt are not true leaders. Quite the contrary, the essence of loyalty is found in love, trust, and the empowerment of others who are part of the vision.

A true leader will never confuse leadership with aggressive selfishness. Although this is often a path to leadership, it leads to achievement that carries with it emptiness and despair. Aggressive and selfish leadership is like placing a ladder alongside a tower, climbing up, and finding desolation. The Principle of Leadership says that a leader can and should strive to climb a ladder that is rooted and stabilized by vision, execution, objectivity, and loyalty. Once reaching the top of this ladder, the leader will find it to be leaning upon the tower of fulfillment.

About the author :

Dr. Ellie Drake Savvy businesswoman, doctor, in-demand motivational speaker,mother and an inspiration to men and women around the globe. She maintains a demanding schedule of personal appearances as well as a series of web sites, each offering insights and products designed to help individuals achieve their personal best. Ellie Drake is down to earth and funny! Visit Be a Millionaire Success http://freebookoffer1.com/

How Can I Pick The Right Leadership Training Program

Leadership covers a vast range of specific skill-sets, almost all of which come under the heading of what trainers call "far transfer training." That means that you have to go all the way back and use them on the job to learn them completely. With that in mind, here are my recommendations for choosing a good program for you.

Specific Skill Areas

Forget about those general leadership workshops that cover everything. Instead, pick a program that will develop a specific skill or set of skills that you need. Here are some general skill areas.

The transition to leadership. Dealing with your boss. Understanding people. Communication. Managing performance. Coaching. Networking. Law. Personal Productivity.

Make sure you pick a workshop that will let you practice skills the way you'll use them on the job. Ropes courses, cooking and other novelty programs may be fun but they don't leave you with much you can use when you get back to work.

When you research potential workshops, write out your own statement of what you'll learn from each workshop you're considering. That way you can determine if there will be specific and helpful learning and if the learning will help you achieve your personal development goals.

Format

A good workshop should have conceptual learning, assessment, and role practice in the specific skill area. You'll learn the most at courses where you learn through exercises, rather than through lecture.

For example, in many leadership workshops, the instructor will tell you what the traits of a great leader are. In my workshops, and many others, you'd work with others in the class to develop a list of such traits. Then the instructor might help you understand how your list compares to the results of research studies.

Sometimes there's no alternative to some form of lecture to get information from the instructor's head to your own. When that's the case, ask how many concrete examples will be used. As human beings, we're wired to learn best from concrete examples.

Don't be shy about finding out in advance how instruction is handled. It can be the difference between a workshop that helps you develop and one that's a waste of time and money.

Follow-Up

A good program will provide you with something you can use after you get back to work. This is important because you'll never remember everything you learned at the training program.

There should be some kind of follow-up to help you apply what you've learned when you're back on the job and then improve your ability over time. That may involve evaluation by an expert or by your peers, or perhaps even your subordinates.

Reminders can be helpful, too. They can be as simple as an outline of what to do or a checklist. Or as elaborate as a series of computer-based job aids.

You can make up your own job aids to help you. Try putting key points or lists of the steps in a process on individual index cards and then carrying those cards with you. Making up the cards is a good review and the cards can be really helpful when you don't have your full notes handy.

Critique Your Own Performance

No matter how good the program is, it's up to you to do your own follow up and take charge of your own development. I suggest to trainees of mine that every time they apply what they've learned in the program, they answer the following questions in writing.

What was the situation? What did I do and why? How did I do it? What happened? How will I do things differently next time?

The "writing" doesn't have to be much, just enough to provide thought discipline. You'll be amazed at how much this simple practice can increase your learning.

Most leadership training will be more effective if you have a mentor or peer to discuss things with when you get back on the job. Plan to do that.

Well-chosen and effective leadership training can help you become the leader you want to be. Poorly chosen or ineffective training is a waste of time and money. It's your responsibility to choose the leadership training programs that meet your needs.

About the author :

Wally Bock helps organizations improve productivity and morale. He is the author of Performance Talk (http://www.performancetalk.com/). He writes the Three Star Leadership blog (http://blog.threestarleadership.com/), coaches individual managers, and is a popular speaker at meetings and conferences.