Leadership Article
Leadership Techniques: Five
Leadership Secrets for Challenging Times
By Ed Sykes
We
consistently face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as
reorganizing, downsizing, and “left out sizing.” We are faced with the question,
“How do we lead in this storm of change?” It may seem difficult at times and
the decisions we make define our short-term and long-term outcomes. I will
share with you five leadership techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during
these difficult times.
§
Integrity. I put this first because the lack of
integrity will make or break you as a professional, as a leader, as a person in
the long run. The lack of this will turn yesterday’s heroes in today’s
villains. For example, “MCI was the apple of the business community’s eye.
High revenues, high profits, and high growth; MCI was beating the competition
hands down. Then it was discovered that there were gross accounting
irregularities that accounted for the astounding profits. You see, management
made a decision, “Do I continue to sustain good growth and be able to look at
myself in the mirror or do I cook the accounting books and spend the rest
of my time covering up this integrity deficiency? The real shame of the
MCI situation was that AT&T, Sprint, and others in the industry had to cut costs
and lay off thousands of employees to compete with MCI’s false numbers. The
lack of integrity at MCI not only affected the company but also the livelihood
of thousands and the industry as a whole. I was recently speaking with a
recently retired City Council member who is well respected in the community. I
asked her what the secret was to her success while on the council? She
mentioned that one of her political adversaries said to her, “While you were on
the council, I didn’t like the way you voted, but I respected the way you voted
because you were consistent with your votes and had the city’s best interest in
mind.” Ask yourself what decisions that you make are right for the long term?
Be consistent in your actions, whether it is with management, your team, or your
family.
§
Knowledge.
With change happening faster and faster every moment, it is extremely important
that you gain the knowledge to master these changes. You owe it not only to
yourself, but to your team and management. As I always say, “It’s not having
the right answer, it’s that you have the right answer faster than before.” Many
times during my teambuilding programs a student will say, “I didn’t know where
to find the answer.” Then I will say, “That is an unacceptable answer.”
Because part of being a leader is acquiring the skills to find the right
answers. With the Internet, classroom and online training, mentors, etc., the
knowledge is at your fingertips. Challenge your team members to use the same
resources to acquire the knowledge to master their challenges. By acquiring
this knowledge, you will be able to navigate your team through the ocean of
change and achieve your goals.
§
Decisiveness.
You have seen them. They wait for information, then more information before
making a decision. Then they need more information to support the information
they already have. Then they need a committee to analyze the information. Then
they wait for the perfect time to make the decision. Well, you know what I
mean. Anyone you know? Make the decision! Good things happen when you take
action; you grow, you adapt, and your team grows. There is no perfect time to
make a decision. Leaders make decisions based on past experience, putting into
action the decision, and staying and adapting the decision if needed. But make
the decision. The worst quality you can show your team is indecision. What do
you think your team sees when you can’t make a decision? Make the decision and
go for it.
§
Vision.
This is the ability not only to see what is the present - anyone can do that -
it’s the ability to see the future. Outstanding leaders can not only see their
team for what they can do now, but what they can become, and paint the picture
for them. These leaders are consistently communicating and coaching their team
members to that vision. One of the best ways, and least used methods, to convey
your vision is the team meeting (Teambuilding
and Coaching Skills for Outstanding Results). Every meeting should start
out with the team vision, mission, and goals; and the rest of the meeting should
tie into the vision. For example, the motivation portion of the meeting should
tie into the vision, the information portion of the meeting should tie into the
vision, the training portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, etc.
Also, invest time to develop your team members’ personal visions and show them
how they can accomplish their personal goals by tying into the overall vision.
By consistently communicating the vision, your team will move with purpose,
feel they are personally making a difference, and achieve their goals sooner.
§
Unselfishness.
Stephen Covey, in his successful book Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People, wrote that a true leader must be a servant to the ones he or she
leads. The leader must be able to “give of oneself for the good of the team.”
In other words, be unselfish in words and action. Be unselfish in praise of
others, in public, especially in front of management. Be unselfish in the
ability to take time to listen, really listen to your team’s concerns. A recent
management survey said that the average time management invests doing “pure
listening” to employees during the year is a mere two hours-just two hours!
What was meant by “pure listening” time was listening with eye contact,
acknowledgement, and not answering the phone while listening, not speaking with
another person while listening, etc. Be unselfish in the ability to help your
team. Whether it’s the ability to readily assist with a difficult telephone
call, jump in and remove road blocks for team members, or “be there” for a team
member during challenging moments. Believe me, your team will remember those
moments and excel for you.
Now I
challenge you to put into action just one of the leadership techniques I
mentioned above to achieve your vision, your mission, and your goals in the
future.
Suggested leadership reading:
Appreciate to Motivate
(The Key to Successful Team Building)
Are You Building Your Foundation of Success: Six Secrets of Motivating Yourself for Success
Seven Secrets to
Being the Leader Everyone Wants to Follow
Five Secrets to Becoming the Perfect Employee
That Everyone Wants – Part One
Have You Appreciated Someone Today?
Nine Ways Johnny Carson Can
Help You Run Outstanding Meetings
You Mean I Need to
Promote Myself to Get a Promotion? 5 Promotion Secrets to Get the Job You Want!
Five Secrets to
Gaining Credibility with Your Team for Outstanding
Results
How Appetizing Is
Your Feedback? (5 Steps to Giving Effective Feedback)
Ten Techniques for
Motivating Others Through Chaos
10
Action Steps to Motivate Yourself to Great Accomplishments
Eight Ways to Motivate
Part-Time Employees
Delegate to Accelerate Success
(How to Prepare
Yourself and Others for Success)
The
Greatest Gift of All - The Gift of Empowerment
Ten Quick Tips for Outstanding
Presentations
Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat" Will Help You Get
Your Point Across! (Yes you can, here's the plan!)
How to Set Boundaries and Say No
Want to learn the
leadership secrets to being
an outstanding leader? Our
Mastering Your Attitude for Positive Results,
Stress
Management,
Team Building,
Life After Downsizing, and
How to
Give Powerful Presentations
leadership
programs can help you be a leader who leads others to the next level. Call us at 757-427-7032 or e-mail
us at info@thesykesgrp.com.
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