7 Reasons Why Exceptional Leaders Are Like Smart Phones!

If you've ever had to look for a new cell phone in the last little while then you could probably attest to the fact that there's no shortage of choices, features and options at our disposal.  Before you even determine what you're looking for, you've got to decide if you're in the market for a conventional cell phone or go the smart phone route.

Within each of those options, there's a bevy of styles and colours for you to choose from.  At the end of day, both phones perform the same basic function of making and receiving calls, however the additional options the smart phone offers makes it much more attractive and is considered the better of the two.  (This of course depends on who you speak with and what preferences they value.)

Smart phones offers a multitude of features and uses that go beyond just talking to people.  The ability to access the internet through any available wi-fi signal and download applications (or apps) broaden your horizon and make the experience of owning a smart phone much more practical.  For example,  you can use UrbanSpoon to help you decide what restaurant to go to, Tripit Travel Organizer to look after your travel plans or download WeatherBug to stay up on the latest weather forecasts plus so much more.

Owning a smart phone is the equivalent of having a mini computer in your back pocket.

So here's where the leadership comparison comes in.

As I see it, anyone can pretty much step into the role of leader and "do the job".  They might even able to produce results and even get others to follow them too.  That to me is a pretty basic function and is the equivalent to dialing out and making a telephone call.

An exceptional leader is much more like a smart phone.  They have a positive impact on the people around them and offer lots of options to make things easier to get the job done - they go beyond just making a simple call.  Their emphasis as a leader is more on "how" part of what they do instead of the "what" part.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg!

Here are seven things exceptional leaders do to make themselves more like smart phones:

Communicate Instead of Direct
We too often forget that communication is a two sided street and listening is a big part of what makes the whole thing work. Exceptional leaders don't make a living barking directions or telling people what to do, they obtain information and understanding by listening and learning from the people around them.  Communication shouldn't be viewed as an extra task, it should be considered to be a necessary function.

Collaborate Instead of Control
Collaboration can best be described as a group of people coming together to achieve something collectively that they couldn't do individually.  Exceptional leaders recognize that the key to effective team work is giving people an opportunity to contribute their unique skills for the greater good of the team.


Proactive Instead of Reactive
The exceptional leader is always thinking three steps ahead. Working to master his/her own environment with the goal of avoiding problems before they arise. A reactive approach is dealing with fires as they happen while a proactive approach prevents them from occurring. 

Inspires Confidence Instead of Being Unsure
It was the 6th president of the United States, John Quincy Adams who once said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." The starting point in being able to do this is understanding that it's impossible to inspire others to do anything if you're not confident yourself. To put it bluntly, if you're not doing anything that inspires those around, then you're not doing your job as a leader. 

Open Minded Instead of Opinionated
It's not outside of the realm of possibility for one to be open minded and opinionated at the exact same time.  People who open-minded are willing to listen to and consider the another person's point of view but still can be very opinionated on certain matters.  The key is that there has to be a willingness to let go of their own bias opinions and viewpoints.  Otherwise opinionated leaders risk not progressing themselves or their people. 

Empowers Instead of Delegates  
Empowering others requires much more effort, energy and time for exceptional leaders however, the end result in the long run leads to a more effective and productive group of followers that feel trusted.  By empowering their people, exceptional leaders are displaying both faith and confidence while constant delegation sends a clear message that they may not exist. 

Inclusive Instead of Egocentric
Being an exceptional leader solely can't be about yourself and your hopes, wishes and desires.  Including others in the decision making process where at all possible helps to strengthen the relationship and build cohesion with those around you.  When its all said and done, people want to know that they're thoughts and feelings were taken into consideration and not left out of the equation whether purposely or not.


__________________

The Main Po!nt
It's not impossible to lead people by taking the old traditional approach of leadership of direct and command and still get results however, the exceptional leaders who stand out are the ones that offer more, give more and continually ask of themselves, do I want to make a difference or am I content with just making a call?



See you on the court!

Follow me on Twitter @TheAudman

Secure Leadership

Insecure Leaders Need Not Apply

I recall once delivering a leadership workshop on self esteem to a group of about 12-15 youth. They were all fairly early in the professional working careers so I was a bit surprised at their reaction when the topic of workplace challenges was raised.



Judging by their responses, I would have thought they were grizzled vets that had been in the workforce for 30+ years and couldn't wait to retire.

I listened to them talk about how de-motivating and challenging it is to work for a micro manager, the dis-empowered feeling they were left with because of not being able to make their own decisions and how unimportant they often times felt when their opinions were constantly second guessed.

It turned out to be a very spirited discussion and the general theme that continued to surface was that trust goes a long way in helping people feel good about the work envirnoment.

Without a Secure Leader at the helm, the work experience is less then enjoyable.

While some leaders have seemingly mastered the art of being that untrusting boss, there are others who are less intentional about their actions and are simply driven by their own personal insecurities.

These insecurities are generally based upon perceived situations or circumstances that often times materialize in the form of suspicions, doubts, uncertainties or fears.

What often follows is a series of unexplainable decisions or actions devoid of any kind of logic or reasonable rationale and leaves onlookers scratching their heads as they try to make sense of things.

The biggest problem with this approach is that it does nothing to inspire, motivate or encourage the people they're leading. These insecure leaders become so self absorbed and reactionary that they start to move further and further away from the things a leader ought to be doing.

Perhaps you've had the misfortune of being led by an insecure leader who lacked confident and therefore scrutinized your every decision?

Maybe transparency was the issue and there always seemed to be "closed" door meetings taking place with a select few?

Or perhaps you weren't assigned tasks because doubts existed whether or not you could "handle" the assignment?

Whatever your situation, the bottom line is that insecurity and leadership don't mix because it does very little to inspire confidence, instill trust and deliver results.

So, what kinds if things can a leader do to demonstrate they're operating from a place of "secureness" and make others feel like they are the top priority and can be trusted?

Here's a list of 11 things I came up with:

1. Secure leaders choose to openly and freely divulge and share information. Insecure leaders operates solely on a need to know basis.
2. Secure leaders nurture employees to help them grow and develop. Insecure leaders don't offer opportunities for growth for fear of losing their job.
3. Secure leaders encourage calculated risk taking amongst the people following them. Insecure leaders want to make all the decisions.
4. Secure leaders give guidance and expect results.Insecure leaders give instructions and expect them to be followed.
5. Secure leaders earn respect. Insecure leaders demand respect.
6. Secure leaders spotlight great performance and don’t worry about getting credit. Insecure leaders may acknowledge great performance but ensure they also get credit.
7. Secure leaders hire and promote others who think differently than they do. Insecure leaders hire and promote others who think like they do.
8. Secure leaders accept responsibility for failure. Insecure leaders look for others to blame.
9. Secure leaders promote those they don’t have to control. Insecure leaders promote those they can control.
10. Secure leaders grow great leaders. Insecure leaders grow good doers.
11. Secure leaders acknowledge effort. Insecure leaders spotlight failure.

The Main Po!nt

Great leaders are first, great individuals who use confidence as a way to to inspire results and win their people over instead of letting insecurities impact their ability to lead others confidently.

See you on the court!