Leadership

 Personal and organisational effectiveness is proportionate to the strength of leadership.

The true measure of leadership is influence.

The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate.

It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers. It is a process and cannot be achieved overnight. It has a compounding effect but there are no quick fixes. Champions don’t become champions in the ring- they are merely recognised there.

A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see and who sees before others do.

Positional leadership

 People who rely on position for their leadership place high value on holding on to their position.

Positional leaders often see subordinates as an annoyance, as interchangeable cogs in the organisation machine or even as troublesome obstacles to their goal of getting a promotion to their next position. As a result departments, teams or organisations that have positional leaders suffer terrible morale.

Often to make themselves look better or to keep people from rising up and threatening them positional leaders make other people small.

How?

By not believing them

By seeing problems more readily than potential 

By viewing them as liabilities instead of assets

They don’t recognize that as leaders they must bring together their vision and aspirations of their people in a way that benefits everyone.

When leaders value position over the ability to influence others the environment of the organisation usually becomes very political.

Positional leaders focus on control instead of contribution. They work to gain titles.

It does creates a vicious cycle of gamesmanship, posturing and manoeuvring and it also creates departmental rivalries and silos.

They desire to feel important and have authority and take every Opportunity to let people know they are in charge. They want people to acknowledge them.

These leaders create a negative environment because they are insecure and easily threatened. Whenever they see people with potential starting to climb, it worries them. As a result they undermine people who show talent trying to guard their position and keep themselves clearly above and ahead of anyone else.

Real leaders have ability to handle any situation. Their focus is on their responsibility to serve their people and not demanding respect or receiving rights because of their position. Changing focus from rights to responsibility is often sign of maturity in a leader.

As said by TS Eliot Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important.

Abraham Lincoln once said nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

Look at any team that has achieved great success and you will find that it has strong leadership.

John C Maxwell

Leadership

 How do you make organisation better?

Invest in people who work in it.

Team Members should work in an environment conducive to growth and Inspiration 

Team leaders should make that happen.

Bringing out the best in a person is often a catalyst for bringing out the best in the team.

Nothing motivates people in a positive way more than seeing a positive leadership model.

Great leaders measure themselves by what they get done through others. That requires developing people in a leadership culture.

Companies get better when their people get better. Investing in people gives a greater return to an organisation.

Why did some organisations continue to succeed after their leaders left while other’s fell apart?

The test of leadership is not what happens when you are there, but what happens when you’re not there.

The ultimate leader is one who is willing to develop people to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.

John C Maxwell

Impact of a leader

 Aristotle while answering the question of his student Alexander the Great that How many is One?

After taking a day Aristotle replied One can be great many . In other words one can make a huge impact, especially when that one is the leader.

John C Maxwell

Leadership

 What is the right disposition that brings authenticity to the position of leadership? 

The right disposition has many features, but they all need to be founded in one essential feature: self-mastery. This feature of leadership is often called personal leadership, as contrasted with public leadership. Whereas public leadership requires a gamut of talents that may or may not be present in everyone, personal leadership is within the reach of everyone.

Giving credit to the team

 Give Credit for Success to the Team….This lifts the Morale of the Team

Mark Twain said “I can live for two months on one good compliment”. that’s the way most people feel. They are willing to work hard if they receive recognition for their efforts. That’s why Napoleon Bonaparte observed “A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon”

Compliment your teammates. And if you’re the leader take the blame but never the credit. Do that and your team will always fight for you.

Leadership

 It is one of the most critical tasks as a leader to instill pride in the team. You do that by giving them opportunity to earn it. Pride does not develop simply by telling team members that they are great or by hanging up banners. It means nothing if it is not earned

To build pride within a team, you have to put the members in situations that require unity, strength, and perseverance to get through. You have to push them in training to the point they are truly tested and in that they will develop pride in what they have accomplished.

Attributes-leadership

 Here are quotes about six key attributes of Leaders Peter F Drucker described

1. “They did not start out with the question, ‘What do I want?’ They started out asking, ‘What needs to be done?’”

2. “Then they asked, ‘What can and should I do to make a difference?’ This has to be something that both needs to be done and fits the leader’s strengths and the way she or he is most effective.”

3. “They constantly asked, ‘What are the organization’s mission and goals? What constitutes performance and results in this organization?’”

4. “They were extremely tolerant of diversity in people and did not look for carbon copies of themselves. It rarely even occurred to them to ask, ‘Do I like or dislike this person?’ But they were totally—fiendishly—intolerant when it came to a person’s performance, standards and values.”

5. “They were not afraid of strength in their associates. They gloried in it. Whether they had heard of it or not, their motto was what Andrew Carnegie wanted to have put on his tombstone: ‘Here lies a man who attracted better people into his service than he was himself.’”

6. “One way or another, they submitted themselves to the ‘mirror test’—that is, they made sure that the person they saw in the mirror in the morning was the kind of person they wanted to be, respect and believe in. This way they fortified themselves against the leader’s greatest temptations—to do things that are popular rather than right and to do petty, mean, sleazy things.”

Popularity is not leadership—great results are.

Leaders

 Consistent attribute of Exceptional leaders that made them great is that they take absolute ownership. Not just for things they are responsible but for everything concerning their goals. These leaders cast no blame. They make no excuses. Instead of complaining about challenges or setbacks, they develop solutions and solve problems. They leverage assets resources relationships to get the job done. Their egos take a back seat. 

They truly lead.

Leadership-Spirituality

 Cultivate great peace within your heart. Quieten your mind. Then all the highest qualities within you will find expression. Peacefulness within is the perfect soil upon which the true success and value creation can blossom. Without finding your peace within, there is nothing to be gained: even the highest leadership position will never satisfy you! 

Pursue tranquility, restfulness , and non-disturbance within.

It is the spiritual secret for true success and wisdom led Leadership.

                                               Swami Vivekanand

Leadership- Strategy

 Execution of strategy is a systematic process of rigorously discussing how’s and what’s, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability. 

You need robust dialogue to surface the realities of business. You need accountability for results- discuss openly and agreed to by those responsible. To get things done and reward the best performances. You need follow through to ensure the plans are on track.

Businesses that execute prosecute them with rigor, intensity and depth.

Which people will do the job? and how they will be judged and held accountable. 

What resources- human, technical, financial, production is required to execute strategy?

The leader has to be engaged personally and deeply in business. Execution requires a comprehensive understanding of a busines, it’s people and environment.

The leader is the only person in a position to achieve that understanding.

Leadership

 Good leaders do what they can to put others in position to win.

Make an effort to understand others and want others to shine more than you do.

When you add value to others you inspire others with your example.

Leaders are like music conductors who help others make beautiful music together.

Leadership-Humility

 Humility is being honest about your weaknesses. The essence of humility is being unafraid to admit when we’re wrong. 

We want to be wiser tomorrow than we are today. 

The more we learn the more we recognize what we don’t know.

Leaders who possess humility are confident yet feel no need to draw attention to themselves.

They acknowledge that they need to improve. They gracefully receive criticism.

They are not threatened when others shine. 

They are happy for them.

Leadership

 Good leaders are aware that they need other people, and they let them know that. It keeps the leader’s ego in check, it connects the leader and the people on the team, it draws team members into the centre , and it better enables them to fulfill the vision. So, if you want to be a connector, acknowledge your shortcomings and need for others, and be willing to ask for help.

Leadership

 Making a personal connection has nothing to do with style. Yo don’t have to be charismatic or a salesperson. You need to show up with an open mind and a positive demeanour. Be informal and have a sense of humour. A business review should take the form of a Socratic dialogue and not an interrogation. All you’ve got to prove is that you care for the people who are working for you whatever your respective personalities are and that’s the personal connection.