Leadership - Hope

Great leaders are purveyors of hope. People want a better tomorrow. They want to believe in, and be excited about, the future. Great leaders cast a vision of hope. They instill a positive outlook towards days to come. People need to be led to genuinely...

 • Hope that the team will win
 • Hope that the project will be successful
 • Hope that the tough times will get better
 • Hope that the hard work will pay off
 • Hope that the tough decisions are worthwhile

 Please don’t misunderstand; hope is not a good way to manage a business. Budgets, strategic plans, targets and forecasts are all tools that leaders use to manage a business on a day to day basis. But hope is needed to lead people. Hope is an intangible, but one that as a matter of human nature we all seek. Great leaders give people hope for a better tomorrow. Lead with hope…

Leadership

What makes a great leader?  What does it take to lead people to a common goal?  To instill confidence in a team?  To accomplish more than thought possible?

I believe there are a few keys to great leadership…

·         Hope

·         Consistency

·         Influence

·         Honesty & Trust

·         Accountability

·         Humility

·         Respect & Caring

This is not a comprehensive list but a critical one.  Leaders often combine these with other important qualities and not all leaders possess them all.  Many leaders have as many strengths as they do weaknesses.  But I believe that at least some of these qualities are present in all great leaders.  Think of the people you have respected and followed willingly.  Did they not lead with some of these characteristics?    In the coming weeks we will take a look at each of these keys to leadership.   

Listening

If you have followed the MMM for very long at all, you know the value I place on listening.  It is one of the most powerful and respectful actions that we can demonstrate as humans.  As leaders, great listening skills are even more important.  Focused listening sends an unspoken message that you value what someone is saying. The more you listen the more trust and loyalty you develop with your team.  So what happens in the absence of listening?  Consider this quote…

“Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.”
           -Andy Stanley

Leadership - Humility

“Pride is concerned with who is right.  Humility is concerned with what is right.”

            -Ezra Taft Benson

As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not if we are right.  What a great world it would be if we were all more concerned with what is right than who is right.  We spend a lot of time defending our position, arguing our viewpoint and building our own individual case.  Is our position always what is right?  That seems doubtful.  There are times we may be arguing for what is right, but often we are just concerned with being right.  Sometimes we even know that we are not right, but we just can’t bring ourselves to admit that we are wrong.  It should not be about being wrong.  It should be about what is right.  This is a tough one for many leaders.  Often leaders think they are supposed to be right and always have the answers.  That is not reality.  

Leadership is not about being focused on oneself and always being right.  Leadership is thinking more about others and what the right answer is for the situation.  Do what is right.  Practice humility…