Leadership

 

We are all leaders. Some are formal leaders with titles, others are informal leaders with influence. We lead at home, church, in our community and at work.  We lead our children, our peers, and our employees.  If you do not consider yourself a leader, you are ignoring an opportunity to influence those around you.  Embrace these leadership points and do your absolute best to be a great leader! 

 

·        Hope - Great leaders give people hope for a better tomorrow.

·        Consistency - When followers never know what to expect from a leader, they will stop expecting anything.

·        Influence - People do not respond well when pushed, forced or directed.  They respond best when influenced by leaders they respect. 

·        Honesty & Trust - Trust and honesty are established when words and actions match up.

·        Accountability - Leaders understand that followers need to see leaders who are willing to be accountable. 

·        Humility - As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not if we are right. 

·        Respect & Caring - People do not care what you know until they know that you care. 

 

Leadership

We are all leaders.  Some are formal leaders with titles, others are informal leaders with influence.  We lead at home, church, in our community and at work.  We lead our children, our peers, and our employees.  If you do not consider yourself a leader you are ignoring an opportunity, even a responsibility, to positively influence those around you.  Below are characteristics that are keys to great leadership.  Embrace these and be a great leader! 

 

• Hope - Great leaders give people hope for a better tomorrow.
• Consistency - When followers never know what to expect from a leader, they will stop expecting anything.
• Influence - People do not respond well when pushed, forced, or directed.  They respond best when influenced by leaders they respect. 
• Honesty & Trust - Trust and honesty are established when words and actions match up.
• Accountability - Followers need to see leaders who are willing to be held accountable. 
• Humility - As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not if we are right. 

What is right or who is 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 cannot bring ourselves to admit that we are wrong.  It should not be about being wrong.  It should be about what is right.  Try and think more about what is right, for your company, for your family, for society; not who is right.  Be humble…

“Pride is concerned with who is right.

Humility is concerned with what is right.”

            -Ezra Taft Benson

You don’t have to always be right!

It’s okay to be wrong, everyone is, and it is important to admit it when we are.  More important is the need for leaders to allow those who work for them to admit their mistakes.  Good leaders give people permission to be wrong.  Most people don't admit their mistakes because of fear. They're afraid they won't be forgiven¹.  Good leaders let their followers know that it's okay.  Great leaders even share their own stories of failure.  It shows that they care and allows them to be human.  This permission to be wrong leads to stronger relationships between leaders and followers.  It leads to humility and transparency. 

There are few guarantees in life, making mistakes is one of them.  Allow yourself to be wrong and admit it.  More importantly, allow those around you to be wrong and admit it.

¹ Parsley, Brian, Admit You’re Wrong (brianparsley.com)

Leadership

We are all leaders.  Some are formal leaders with titles, others informal leaders with influence.  We lead at home, church, in our community and at work.  We lead our children, our peers and our employees.  If you do not consider yourself a leader you are ignoring an opportunity to influence those around you.  Below are some keys of quality leadership.  Embrace these and be a great leader! 

• Hope - Great leaders give people hope for a better tomorrow.

• Consistency - When followers never know what to expect from a leader they will stop expecting anything.

• Influence - People do not respond well when pushed, forced or directed. They respond best when influenced by leaders they respect. 

• Honesty & Trust - Trust and honesty are established when words and actions match up.

• Accountability - Leaders understand that followers need to see leaders who are willing to be accountable. 

• Humility - As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not if we are right. 

• Respect & Caring - People do not care what you know until they know that you care.  

We choose…

Every day we make choices, we choose to:

• be patient or impatient
• be kind or unkind
• actively listen or passively wait to voice our view
• be selfless or selfish
• be forgiving or resentful
• act with humility or behave arrogantly
• be honest or deceitful
• be loving or not to love
• smile or frown

Notice that I said “we choose”.  I did not say we “can” choose.  We do make these choices every day, whether consciously or subconsciously.  How do you choose?