Observation - A Critical Leadership Skill

Leaders know observation skills are critically important to success - in any dimension. They work hard to develop their own, and to identify the skill in their people.

Leaders rely heavily on the observations of others to test their own impressions, and to add to their body of knowledge about whatever issue is on the table. Observation is learning on the fly - it's not something you sit down to do. And every experience adds to your body of knowledge, leaving you a top asset to your organization, your industry, your family, and yourself.

Leadership

At the same time that it is such a valuable skill, it's amazing how little value is attached to it by many, many managers. Again and again you'll see people leave a meeting with the statement that it was a waste of their time. When pressed, they will state that they learned nothing, or the meeting was inconclusive, or they weren't the right person the be there, or they felt muzzled.

Observation - A Critical Leadership Skill

A suggestion: the next time you find yourself in a meeting where you feel it's a waste of your time, promise yourself that you will take from that meeting at least 3 items of information - perceptions, opinions, facts, observed behavior, that can be of help in your work. Then apply those elements to your relationships. It works - most people don't do it. Most people don't become effective leaders. In the case of most people, they don't even know observation is a highly prized skill.

If you want to be in the top ten percent of whatever you do, work consciously and hard on the development of your observation skills. It will pay off - I guarantee it. If you want to be world class in anything, you gotta develop the skill of observation - seeing the world around you and seeing it every day, in every way, and make observing a habit of thought. The price of success is stepping out - observing the world in all its variety, learning from it, and taking that accumulation of inputs and putting them to use in decision making - in improving intuition - in building relationships.

Ten behaviors and habits of thought critical for developing accurate observation skills:

Sizing up people - people watching

Clarity - seeing the world as it is

Curiosity - asking why

Listening skills

Willingness to set aside personal biases

Willingness to seek the inputs of others

Seeking out new experiences and possibilities

Being comfortable with ambiguity

Knowledge of the behaviors and attitudes of people

Self knowledge - accurately knowing your own behaviors, attitudes and personal skills, and how they impact others

It's easy to get so focused on our own job that we really don't see the forest for the trees, even if we're invited to the highest ranger station in that particular forest.

A personal story:

I was hiking in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve and coming down a steep, rocky, narrow path. Approaching me from below was a young woman, baseball cap pulled down over her eyes, dark sunglasses, hydration backpack, and earphones. I stepped aside to let her pass - hikers ascending have right of way - I said "Hello," and she went past me - within inches of touching me - without acknowledging me! Wow - two people, close enough to touch, no one else around, and not so much as a nod.

Just what does this have to do with observation skills? A lot. This hiker was so into her own zone that nothing around her could enter her consciousness. The birds singing, the green of spring, the warning rattle of a rattlesnake, the crunch of boots overtaking her, the beautiful blue sky - none of it could penetrate her "zone." I see that a lot. Mountain bikers, hikers, runners- all intent on their journey - oblivious to their surroundings except for what is right in front of them - and in danger of missing all kinds of messages. Observation? Other than their own heart rate, miles covered, calories burned, goals met, time elapsed, mountains climbed, Gatorade consumed, how they feel - they could be in a dark tunnel. Too bad for them - they miss all kinds of critical inputs that could help them grow and develop and enjoy the process of gaining physical fitness.

To the extent that we close ourselves off from the unfamiliar; from things that would challenge us; from things that make us think; from things that disagree with our beliefs; from things that can stimulate our senses, we create our own little cocoon - that safe place where we can exist unaffected by all the stuff that swirls around us. Some people call it focus - I think not.

A suggestion. We all need to gain or regain our sense of wonder about new things. Take a different route to work, buy a different newspaper, listen to a different news show, take a run over unfamiliar territory, hike in the woods or mountains - without your IPod, try a different routine at the gym, eat a meal you have never had before. And observe through all your senses. Gaining observation skills is an active, exciting process. It's best accomplished by sensing - as if for the first time - the world around you, and then seeing more than you saw the last time.

Try it - today. Become an active observer of life - and gain greater success - in whatever way you define success.

Observation - A Critical Leadership Skill

Andy Cox is President of Cox Consulting Group LLC. The focus of his work is on helping organizations and their people increase their success in the hiring, developing and enhancing the performance of leaders and emerging leaders. Cox Consulting Group LLC was started in 1995, and has worked with a wide range of organizations, managers and leaders - helping them define success, achieve success and make the ability to change a competitive advantage. He can be reached at http://coxconsultgroup.com

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Charismatic Leadership

The charismatic leader is perhaps the most exciting as his leadership abilities are often attributed to strong character, feats of great strength and heroism or divine guidance.

The Charismatic Leader

Leadership

Most charismatic leaders posses similar traits and behavioral characteristics. Many are seen to have almost supernatural powers and are worshiped by their followers. We see this in many of the better-known evangelical leaders such as the Reverend Billy Graham or Joel Osteen.

Charismatic Leadership

In addition these leaders tend to generate almost instantaneous trust amongst their followers such as Gandhi or Martin Luther King. Finally they earn their leadership not because they hold an important position in a company or government but because of their ability to attract followers naturally.

The Positive Traits of This Type of Leader

Most charismatic leaders are able to get others to understand their vision or goals through the use of simple stories that everyone can comprehend. And more importantly, charismatic leadership allows the followers to clearly see their glorious place within this vision so they are more likely to vigorously defend their leader. The charismatic leader uses his charm, imagination, and inspiration to build a utopian future.

The Negative Traits of a Charismatic Leader

Charismatic leadership can also have its bad side. Many of these leaders can only achieve their goals through extreme personal sacrifice. Oftentimes family members suffer so that the leader may succeed. In addition a charismatic leader will usually try to move quickly to her goal.

This can cause discomfort amongst some of her followers who feel she is moving to fast. This could lead to disgruntled "ex-follower" who can promote bad press that places the leader in a bad light.

Two Extremes

One of the most positive charismatic leaders in history is Mahatma Gandhi. By maintaining his humility and setting an example of integrity, honesty and peaceful civil disobedience he was able to achieve India's independence.

A very negative example of a charismatic leader is Adolph Hitler. His ability to sway followers to his way of thinking was exemplified in his speeches regarding his vision of a master race. He could talk to thousands of people at once at you could hear a pin drop the audience was so mesmerized by his words.

Business and Charisma

Charismatic leadership in business can have its pros and cons. A charismatic leader is an excellent choice for a business that is forced to dramatically change its vision. Perhaps its primary product is no longer as popular as it once was and the company is forced to look for another product to keep it profitable. A charismatic leader is able to inspire and motivate its employees to readily accept this change.

A major problem with charismatic leaders is finding a successor to carry on the same vision with as much fervor and desire. In addition a charismatic leader motivates by force of personality. He might not possess other traits that are needed to be an effective leader once the vision is achieved.

Charismatic Leadership

Victor Ghebre is the editor of Settinggoals101.com where you get practical tips and information on goal Setting [http://www.Settinggoals101.com], motivation, leadership and more.

Visit Define Leadership [http://www.settinggoals101.com/define-leadership.html] to learn how to set yourself up for success and get free tips on how to effectively learn to lead.

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Management Vs. Leadership - An Assessment of Interdependence

Abstract

Leadership and management have been the focus of study and attention since the dawn of time. Over time leadership and management have been seen as separate entities, but those times have past. It is this paper's intent to prove that good management is incumbent upon the success and quality of the leadership that drives it, and by proxy, so too will poor leadership bring poor management that will lead to poor results, and decreased levels of success.

Leadership

From the great minds in management theory: Fayol, Taylor, and Weber; homage being paid to Barnard and Mayo, as well as Maslow, Mintzberg, Drucker and Porter; to the great minds in leadership development: Jung, McClelland and Burnham, this paper intends to examine them all and bring them together as is required in this economy and these times.

Management Vs. Leadership - An Assessment of Interdependence

Much time, effort, and money has been placed into the study of both management and leadership successes. Mintzberg and Drucker have done some of the best and most informative work at bringing management and leadership together; now, with the rising costs of overhead and decreasing profit margins, now is the time to connect the dots, once and for all.

Leadership and management have been the focus of study and attention since the dawn of time. Reference biblical scripture that questions the leadership decisions of King David and the managerial prowess of Moses and his exodus to the "Promised Lands" (Cohen, 2007); Plato helped us to manage the Republic while Machiavelli helped us to formulate our idea of what a Prince should represent (Klosko, 1995); Shakespeare questioned Hamlet's decision making (Augustine & Adelman, 1999) and trumpeted Henry IV's managerial effectiveness (Corrigan, 1999). John Stuart Mill gave us the "shining city upon a hill", while Hegel taught us the "elements of the philosophy of right" and Marx taught us how to manage a people in his overly popularized (and oft misunderstood) manifestos (Klosko, 1995). Thomas Payne rewrote leadership to the basic levels of Common Sense, while Thomas Jefferson acknowledged that in the management of a people, you must remember that "all men are created equal" and that they maintain certain degree of"unalienable Rights". Countless others have come to the surface over the span of time, all promoting a new or improved way to both manage and lead their people. (And hopefully yours, too, if you're willing to pay for it.) However, through it all, one thing has remained constant; people are not autonomous entities that will respond the same to every situation. People are evolving, thinking, emotionally and socially aware of all that is around them; they are motivated through different methods and they are driven by differing levels of success (McClelland & Burnham, 1995). Over time, leadership and management have been seen as separate entities, but no more: it is, therefore, this paper's intent to prove that good management is incumbent upon the success and quality of the leadership that drives it, and by proxy, so too will poor leadership bring poor management that will lead to poor results, and decreased levels of success. In today's fast paced environments, management requires leadership; you cannot have one without the other and still attain the success that you desire.

Reference any management text or publication and you will inevitably come across the obligatory references to the great minds in management theory: Fayol - the first to recognize management as a "discipline" to be studied (Brunsson, 2008), Taylor's scientific management of industrial work and workers (Safferstone, 2006), and Weber's bureaucracy; homage must also be paid to Barnard, Kotter, Bennis, and Mayo, as well as Maslow, Mintzberg, Drucker, and Porter (Lamond, 2005). These great minds have helped to forge the way for the management field and helped to better management teams across the world. The world of "leadership study" carries quite the similar pedigree; ironically, it also carries many of the same names. It is, however, this author's opinion that many of the additions to the pool of knowledge on leadership were not made known until the study of psychology was made more fashionable by the likes of Freud and Jung. Management, it appears, is a tool to better the bottom line and productivity, whereas leadership is one of those studies that is to be improved through the person's ability to be in touch with their personality, traits, motives and effects on the human elements of productivity.

There appears be some coincidence in the timing of the juxtaposition of the terms "management" and "leadership" and the correlation to the fact that most literature post 1950 seems to cross pollinate the two phrases. It is quite possible that this, the historical time for post war boom, is where production was at record highs and management of production was not as key as the management of people Possibly drawn from a social recognition that people were not to be managed, but rather, they were to be valued members of the team, and therefore, to be led - it is speculative, but it appears evident that entering the 1960's, most literature intertwines the "leaders" and the "managers" into the same professional classification.

Carl Jung (1923) posits that people carry specific traits and that those traits cannot be altered. However, much time effort and money has been placed into the study of both management and leadership traits, tendencies, styles, and successes. Why is this? One belief is that Jung only half analyzes the person and that more than your traits influence your leadership potential (de Charon, 2003). This affords the opportunity for you to learn skills necessary to become a better leader, even if that means understanding who you are and what your tendencies are, in order to counteract them. Jung's work with personality traits has become the hallmark to virtually every professional development and personal development course on the market. Jung stipulates that every person has any combination of sixteen different personality types. By definition, knowing these personality types helps you to better negotiate your way through the situation in order to attain the maximum output desired (Anastasi, 1998).

Running in concert to Jung's ideas are those of Henry Mintzberg. Mintzberg stipulates that much has changed since Fayol's assessment in 1916; gone are the days when the "picture of a manager was a reflective planner, organizer, leader, and controller" (Pavett & Lau, 1983). Mintzberg breaks the manager's job into ten roles, divided into three areas: interpersonal, informational, and decisional (2004):

Interpersonal Roles
Informational Roles
Decisional Roles
Figurehead
Monitor
Entrepreneur
Leader
Disseminator
Disturbance handler
Liaison
Spokesperson
Resource allocator
Negotiator
(Lussier & Achua, 2007).

Ironically, in today's interpretation of a leader, one would be hard pressed to find a leader whom is unable to do all of the above, and then some. Mintzberg, in later publications, however, goes much further in his assessment of managers and their roles in the organization. In a collaborative effort with Jonathon Gosling, the two determine the five mindsets of a manager (2003). They break the five mindsets into:

1. Managing self: the reflective mindset; where the effective manager is able to reflect upon the history (current and aged) to create a better future moving forward.

2. Managing the organization: the analytical mindset; here referencing a tennis match, where the manager must be cognizant of the crowd and their reaction, but also focusing on the ball itself.

3. Managing context: the worldly mindset; thinking globally and looking for the unorthodox solution.

4. Managing relationships: the collaborative mindset; where the manager is able to engage the employees and moves beyond empowerment [which "implies that people who know the work best somehow receive the blessing of their managers to do it (Kibort, 2004)] into commitment.

5. Managing change: the action mindset; "imagine your organization as a chariot pulled by wild horses. These horses represent the emotions, aspirations, and motives of all the people in the organization. Holding a steady course requires just as much skill in steering around to a new direction" (Gosling & Mintzberg, 2003, p. 54-63).

Gosling and Mintzberg conclude with one very interesting point. They stipulate that, unlike Pavett & Lau (1983) that good managers are able to look beyond the desire to fix problems with simple reorganizations. In fact, they argue that hierarchy plays a very small role in the actual completion of tasks on the unit level and can only lead to more bureaucracy. Which leads one to ask the question: who is to complete those unit level tasks and solve those problems associated with people?

There is no definitive definition of what leadership is, as it appears to change form and focus for each individual study. For the purposes of this paper, however, the definition set forth by Lussier & Achua (2007) seems to fit best: "Leadership is the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through change" (p.6). How do we compare leadership and management? The common misconception is that it is something that should be compared "straight up", or "even Steven". Obviously, there are natural leaders and persons in positions of social authority throughout every facility, and yes, it is incumbent upon the managers and leaders to empower those people to support the overall mission. Admittedly, some of these people may never become managers, but their role in the facility is of the utmost importance.

However, as managers are an industry specific entity, it is ridiculous to try and compare leadership to management outside of the constraint of the management role. Recognizing and accepting the constraint of the comparison, it must be acknowledged that in industry, you cannot have good leadership without good management; and in obvious juxtaposition, poor leadership leads to poor success rates for the management. It seems apparent that our management staffs should concentrate on growing employees into leaders, to eventually become managers; but if the managers themselves are not leaders yet, then much difficulties will soon befall upon that company. As Peter Drucker will tell you, it is imperative to build a strong management team, centered around strong leadership. In thinner times, gone are the days of two people for every position. Here are the days when a successful company is able to package good managerial skills into every leader, and good leadership skills into every manager. Failure to do so will result in failure to succeed.

"Drucker devotes considerable effort and space to defining the nature and role of management. This discussion also focuses on the nature and value of leadership in the organization. According to Drucker, leadership gives the organization meaning, defines and nurtures its central values, creates a sense of mission, and builds the systems and processes that lead to successful performance" (Wittmeyer, 2003).

References
Anastasi, Thomas (1998). Personality negotiating: conflict without casualty. Boston University,
Boston, MA: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Augustine, Norman & Adelman, Kenneth (1999). Shakespeare in charge: the bard's guide to

leading and succeeding on the business stage. New York, NY: Hyperion
Brunsson, K. (2008). Some Effects of Fayolism. International Studies of Management &

Organization, 38(1), 30-47.
Cohen, Norman. (2007). Moses and the journey to leadership: Timeless lessons of effective

management from the Bible and today's leaders. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights

Publishing.
Corrigan, Paul (1999). Shakespeare on management: leadership lessons for today's managers.
Dover, NH: Kogan Page Limited.

de Charon, Linda. (2003). A transformational leadership development program: Jungian
psychological types in dynamic flux. Organization Development Journal, 21(3), 9-18.
Gosling, J., & Mintzberg, H. (2003, November). The Five Minds of a Manager. (cover story).
Harvard Business Review, 81(11), 54-63
Jung, Carl (1923) Psychology Types. New York, NY: Harcourt Press
Kibort, Phillip M (2004). Management vs. Leadership. Physician Executive, 30(6), 32-35.
Klosko, George (1995). History of political theory: an introduction. Volume II; modern political

theory. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Group / Thomson Learning.
Lamond, David. (2005) On the value of management history: Absorbing the past to understand

the present and inform the future. Management Decision, incorporating the Journal of
Management History, 43, 10.
Lussier, Robert N. & Achua, Christopher F. (2007). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill

development, 3e. Mason, OH: Thomson Higher Education.
McClelland D. & Burnham, D. H. (1995) Power is the great motivator. Harvard Business
Review, January, 81(1), p117-126.
Mintzberg, H. (2004, August). Leadership and management development: An afterword.

Academy of Management Executive, 18(3), 140-142.
Pavett, C., & Lau, A. (1983, March). Managerial work: The influence of hierarchical level and

functional specialty. Academy of Management Journal, 26(1), 170-177
Safferstone, Mark J. (2006). Organizational Leadership: Classic Works and Contemporary

Perspectives.
Wittmeyer, C. (2003, August). The Practice of Management: Timeless Views and Principles.

Academy of Management Executive, 17(3), 13-15

Management Vs. Leadership - An Assessment of Interdependence

Kevin Vail is a graduate student at Norwich University's School of Graduate Studies, in pursuit of his Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership.

The success he receives in this program is predicated on a highly intensive curriculum, that uses his experiences from military, education, and corporate training environments. Both academic research and personal experiences have led to a wide understanding of leadership styles, traits, and opportunities for development.

Kevin currently serves as the TWI Implementation Manager, for TWI Training Solutions, Inc - a company devoted to the roll out and development of Training Within Industry's programs in the manufacturing industry. Currently participating in his third roll out, in as many years, Kevin has seen an increase of 200% in the Key Performance Indicators, by using the TWI materials to drive Leadership, Training, and Discipline in both the people and the process.

For further information about this article, or anything you have read in this text, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin at kevinvail@train2lead.org, or come visit him at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinvail

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The Four Primary Functions of CEO Leadership

The majority of effective CEO/President leaders seem to be natural visionaries. Although, I admit, that there are successful leaders that can't see past lunch. However, those leaders without the vision that are successful are successful because they have the unique ability to surround themselves with high quality people. Almost unanimously this type of leader has at least one member of his team or Board of Directors that fills that visionary void. Today's individual leadership models, to be effective, must embrace an empowering framework not a commanding one. The most effective way to get employees to release discretionary energy, ideas and information is to mobilize their human energy through empowerment. That is the basis of the "Lead Wolf Model" of leadership.

1. The Visionary --- This is the platform for the functions of leadership. A visionary leader defines the company's destination. They craft the core values and define the culture of the organization. Clarification of goals and initiatives are a primary responsibility and the leader must distill a concept of success throughout the organization.

Leadership

2. The Cheerleader --- The cheerleader's primary responsibility is to keep the team focused and motivated. They in essence are the primary team builder starting at the top with the executive team. But creating an effective executive team isn't enough. The leader must instill the coaching and mentoring concept in the core belief system of his executive team to insure that these values are passed down throughout the organization.

The Four Primary Functions of CEO Leadership

3. The Role Model --- Do as I do. That is exactly what employees will do. The leader is and must be highly visible to all employees. The leader has a responsibility to reinforce the success principles and core values of the organization. Day to day actions, managing by walking around, open communication, empowerment and generating employee feedback are key responsibilities of the leader as a role model.

4. The Last Chip ---- The ultimate decision maker for the toughest decisions. This requires mental toughness, total honesty and integrity. These types of decisions are often forced by external forces, unpredictable circumstance or long term investment activity. The leadership function called the last chip is defined this way to reinforce the concept of empowerment. A leader's primary responsibility is not to make day to day decisions but to empower his employees to make the majority of those decisions with only those critical, long term, high investment, futuristic decisions reserved for the leader.

All four of these functions are critical to the success of the leader and critical to the success of the organization. All four of these functions including the "Last Chip" apply to all other leaders in the organization to the degree that is relative to their functional responsibility. The definition of "Last Chip" is the only function that carries with it a level of variability. Keeping these four functions of leadership in the forefront when building your own personal leadership model will help you maintain a servant style embedded in your model which is the only way to maximize success in today's environment with today's workforce.

The Four Primary Functions of CEO Leadership

Check out Rick's new CD and workbook Real World Leadership Kit --- "Learning to Lead So Others Will Follow: http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/real-world-leadership.html

http://www.ceostrategist.com - Sign up to receive "The Howl" a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. - Straight talk about today's issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution's "Leadership Strategist", founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com

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Youth Leadership Training - How to Develop Key Skills in Youth (5 Tips)

An effective leadership program for teens builds skills in communications, leadership, problem solving, critical thinking, and human relations. The following strategies will help you accomplish this inside and outside of the classroom.

* Select powerful learning activities.

Leadership

Select the right learning activities; they make the difference. Therefore, expose participants to activities that are highly interactive and thought provoking. And, when you give the instructions avoid telling teens the objectives. Let them experience the lesson. Save the objectives for the discussion.

Youth Leadership Training - How to Develop Key Skills in Youth (5 Tips)

* Plan challenging small group projects.

Small group projects encourage communication, problem solving, and team work. Find projects that require youth to work together over an extended period of time. Always appoint recorders to observe and report what happens in the groups.

* Organize interesting leadership internships.

Seek opportunities to get youth involved in community projects. Plan an assignment around a particular issue. Partner with government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits.

* Teach youth how to present themselves with poise and confidence.

Facilitate seminars on public speaking, interviewing, and etiquette. In regards to the former, videotape the participants delivering a short and a long informative or persuasive presentation. Moreover, teach teens the basics of proposal writing.

* Let youth serve as leaders.

Create a governing board made up of teens to deal with issues that may surface during the year. Let participants write the rules and regulations. Elect a different group of leaders each year.

In closing, youth need instruction and unique opportunities to develop critical skill sets. For this purpose, consider the ideas presented. Make the commitment to produce confident and competent future leaders.

Youth Leadership Training - How to Develop Key Skills in Youth (5 Tips)

Bonus Tip: You're invited to visit http://www.squidoo.com/empoweryouthwithleadershiptraining to receive a FREE special report on the key components to youth leadership training programs. Stephanie Harbin, a motivational speaker and training specialist, has developed and presented a wide range of programs for business, government, educational institutions, and non-profits. Her focus is on leadership, strategy, training, career and personal development.

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The Characteristics of Bad Leadership

Introduction

When the Israelites requested that they wanted a king to rule over them and rejected the theocratic reign of God, God gave them Saul son of Kish as their king. It was God's decision to continue to rule the Israelites through a human representative. Later, God rejected Saul as unfit to continue to rule the Israelites. Why was Saul's leadership condemned?

Leadership

Solomon was one of the many kings who ruled Israel after Saul. He had a long and peaceful reign over Israel. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king. But shortly after his accession to the throne, the United Kingdom was divided into two and he lost the greater part of the kingdom. What made the United Kingdom divide and disintegrate under king Rehoboam?

The Characteristics of Bad Leadership

After the Death of Joshua and the elders who out-lived him, there was a great problem of leadership in Israel. God raised up judges from time to time to deliver his people from oppression and rule over them. Samson was one of those judges that God raised. The Israelites, whom Samson was raised to deliver on several occasions tried to hand him over to their oppressors. Samson later became a prisoner of the philistines until his death. What happened to this great man that God raised as a deliver?

For a woman to rule a nation like Israel, she must certainly have some great qualities. Therefore one cannot be wrong in saying Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah, who also ruled Israel, had great qualities. However, in the seventh year of her reign the people conspired against her and put her to death by the sword. What was wrong with her leadership that caused her subject to have acted in this way?

The four leaders mentioned failed in their leadership roles. For this reason their leadership has been characterized as bad. However, is it because one fails in leadership that one's leadership is bad? Failure is an indication that there are certain characteristics of one's leadership that are not good. These Characteristics, which cause leaders to fail, would now be identified in the leadership of the four leaders. This will be done under the following headings: (a) A reflection on the leadership of five leaders in Bible times ( b) Basic characteristics of their leadership (c) An evaluation of their leadership.

A reflection on the leadership of five leaders in Bible times

This section is a reflection on the leadership of five leaders whose leadership has been characterized as bad. As mentioned in the introduction each of these leaders have experienced failures in their leadership. But, is it because of a failure that one's leadership should be characterized as bad? This reflection is the first step in answering the question posed above. The leadership of Saul, Rehoboam, Samson and Athaliah will be briefly discussed focusing on their preparedness or fitness to lead and on their specific areas of failure.

Saul

Saul was the first king of Israel. Saul is chosen by divine guidance. He is a man of humility, consecrated by holy oil and filled with the spiurit.1 It cannot be denied that Saul was prepared for leadership by the assurance of divine support and the special dualities that God gave him as a person. As Joyce Peel rightly pointed out, at the very beginning of his reign Saul proved his ability to lead as he rescued the city of Jabesh from the control of Nahash the Ammonite. The victory over the Ammonites gave Saul acceptance among all the people.

Without disagreeing with Joyce Peel that Saul had good qualities for leadership and was prepared for leadership by the assurance of divine support, Ted Engstrom stated that Saul lacked most of the fine qualities one expects in leadership.2 To substantiate his point, he made reference to an account in second Samuel Chapter five. This account was in reference to a request the people of the northern tribes of Israel made to David, asking him to also be their King. In their appeal to David, Engstrom observed that they said David was the real power in Saul's government and Saul was only a figurehead. It was David who led Israel out to battle and won victories for the nation. In addition, Engstrom pointed out that the nation that Saul left behind was torn by civil wars.3

In may be true that Saul lacked most of the fine qualities one expects in leadership, but the qualities that he had were good enough for him to succeed. Identifying the areas of Saul's failures can prove the point that he had what would have made him succeed. According to William J Dumbrell, there were three main areas of failures in Saul's leadership. The first was when Saul defies Samuel's orders to wait in Mizpah until he comes to offer sacrifice before the soldiers go to battle. Saul went along and offered the sacrifice though he was not a Levite. The second was, as Dumbrell puts it, his food taboo and his proposed death of Jonathan. Jonathan had eaten some wild honey not knowing that Saul had pronounced a self-determined religious fast, enforced with a curse, until the pursuit of their enemies was over. In addition, Saul's victorious army was so hungry when they returned that they slaughtered and ate the animals without cooking the meet. In this situation Saul certainly lost control of his followers. The third failure was when he failed to carry out God's instructions concerning the Amalekites. He was supposed to destroy them and their animals completely, but he spared the king and the best of the animals.4

Saul's failure must however be seen in its wider context. The issue was that he refuses to acknowledge God's authority established through the prophet Samuel. Samuel was to provide divine guidance to Saul for him to succeed.

Rehoboam

Rehoboam was the son of king Solomon. One can assume that as one of the king's sons he would have been very much interested in the kingship. As the king's son he would also have been groomed for leadership, especially when one considered the fact that under normal circumstances one of the king's sons had to succeed him. He therefore had potentials that qualify him to lead. However, according to some authors, Rehoboam was not adequately prepared for leadership. William J Dumbrell observed, that Jeroboam, the one time forced labor supervisor in the north, capitalizes upon the ineptness of Solomon's son Rehoboam and leads the northern ten tribes into succession as the kingdom of Israel.5 Dumbrell's argument was that if Rehoboam had been adequately prepared for leadership he would not have acted the way he did on that particular occasion. One can gain more insight from the observation of Joyce Peel that Rehoboam was not adequately prepared for leadership. She affirms that Rehoboam, like Absalom, is arrogant. Brought up in Solomon's palace, he sees royalty in terms of privilege and absolute power. He ignores the advise of older counselors, and encouraged by his arrogant men he returned a harsh answer.6 It can be observed from what Joyce peel said, that the problem of Rehoboam's unpreparedness for leadership was basically his. It was a matter of his character or conduct. Every person should be personally accountable for his or her character and conduct. King Rehoboam failed in maintaining the United Kingdom left by his father. The incident already cited resulted in the division of the kingdom. Although the division of the kingdom had already been prophesied, Rehoboam's action should not be overlooked. His failure, one must observe, resulted not only in a political division of the nation, but also in the apostasy of the northern tribes.

Samson

Samson was one of the judges raised to rule Israel before the start of the monarchy. According to Judges 13:15-23, he was the promised son of a barren woman. Even before he was born, God began to make preparations for him as a chosen leader. Samson grew up to be a Nazarite, sworn never to drink or cut his hair. The secret of his phenomenal strength lay in keeping this vow. It should be observed that Samson's preparation as a spiritual leader was of extreme importance to God. One should take into consideration that it was because of the apostasy of the nation that they were experiencing suppression by their enemies. The enemies during Samson's time were the philistines, who were controlling most of the land and they had exclusive possession of iron weapons. Maybe for that reason God raised Samson to be exceptionally strong to confront them even without a weapon.

When Samson assumed his leadership role, Joyce Peel described the kind of person he turned out to be: "But Samson was lustful, self-willed and irresponsible." Peel made references to the two philistine women he married, who infatuated and deceived him. The first one who got the secret of his riddle from him and the second, Delilah, who got the secret of his strength.

The people whom Samson was supposed to lead considered him a failure. On some occasions they tried to hand him over to their enemies because they saw him as the cause for greater suppression. Arthur E. Cundell described the humiliation of this great judge in the hands of his enemies in these words: "The weakened Samson was now easily captured by the philistines. His eyes were gouged out and he was brought down to Gaza, the scene of one of his earlier feasts of strength (16:1-3) and put to work at the tedious task of grinding out corn."8 Samson's life, which promised so much, taking into consideration the special abilities God gave him, was blighted and ultimately destroyed by his sensual passions and lack of true separation to the Lord.

Athaliah

The last of the four leaders to be discussed is Attaliah, the mother of Azariah. As already been pointed out, she ruled Israel for six years. Eugene M. Merrill described how she came to leadership in the following quote: "The empty throne of Judah was left by default to Attaliah, Azariah's wicked Israelite mother."9 The Biblical record in 2Chronicles 22 shows that she puts to death all those she can find who had right to the throne. Therefore describing her as a wicked woman can be justified. However, to be able to accomplish such a goal she must have had good support. The fact that this woman was able to sit on the throne for six years, show that she had leadership abilities. This is however not to justify the way she used her abilities.

On the seventh year of her reign, the biblical records show that she was overthrown and killed by the very people she was ruling. In just retribution for her blasphemies and murders, she was maneuvered away from God's house which her sons had ransacked (2Chronicles 24:7) and was slain near the palace.10 This shows that the people she was ruling never accepted her leadership. She had managed to use force and her position as queen mother to stay in power.

Basic characteristics of the leaders and their leaderships

Having briefly reflected on the four leaders and their leadership, it will now be appropriate to discuss the basic characteristics of their leadership. This will be done under three sub-headings:
a) The leader as a person;
b) His or her leadership;
c) The followers.

This is because leadership involves a relationship between these three elements.

a. The Leaders

According to Bob Gordon and David Fardouly, many people fail in leadership because they did not receive a divine call to leadership. A call from God comes with an inner recognition that the individual will be equipped for the task. They said without God, no one would be sufficiently equipped to accomplish any task in God's kingdom. The individual will only be operating in his or her own strength.11 It is worth noting that two of the leaders being discussed received divine call, but they also failed. Was it because they operated in their own strength? Gordon and Fardouly's point is that one of the reasons why leaders fail is because they operate in their own strength, which in some cases, may be an indication that they have not been called. In other cases, they may have been called but have turned away from God's authority and support. Therefore, from what Gordon and Fardouly have said, one of the characteristics of bad leadership is seen in the conduct or character of the leaders who do not recognize their inadequacy and try to do everything by their own strength.

b. Their leadership

In discussing the leadership of the four leaders, two main things have been given primary importance. These are their vision and leadership styles. As John Haggai rightly observed, "a vision has a direct bearing on his leadership style.12 As a starting point, one could ask, what were the4 visions of these leaders? What was Saul's vision for Israel? Or did Saul really have a vision for Israel? A close examination of the observation of John Maxwell will help one determine whether Saul really have a vision. Maxwell observed that after he tasted success in battle, he mistook his position as king for real leadership. Though he had the title, power and crown of a king, he never moved the monarchy beyond a chairman-based judgeship. He was made a general but he never attracted a large standing army. He created no organized government to preserve his gains. And when God no longer favoured him he though the title of king entitled him to continue leading.13 From these observations one could rightly say that Saul had no vision that he pursued on behalf of Israel. As a result, his style of leadership was mainly seen in his response to Israel's enemies. During those occasions he demonstrated more of o dictatorial or authoritative kind of leadership.

King Rehoboam on the other hand considered to have achieved his goal when he sat on the throne. One can deduce from his reply to the Israelites who appealed to him to reduce the burden of king Solomon placed on them, that he had no proper vision for the people. It was clear from his reply that his vision was for the people to serve him and make him comfortable. Also, the caliber of the counselors he chose supported the fact that he had no vision for Israel. His vision might have been to sit on the throne until he retires or dies. As a result of his lack of vision, his style of leadership was more of an authoritarian or dictatorial one.

Samson was no different from Rehoboam. According to Joyce Peel, Samson was lustful, self-willed and irresponsible.14 Samson was never seen in any constructive leadership role in Israel. His attacks on Israel's enemies were purely based on personal revenge. He was however supposed to subdue the nation's enemies because of their suppression of the nation. The life he lived showed that he had no clear vision for the nation. So his style of leadership was more of an authoritarian or dictatorial one.

Like the others, queen Athaliah did not have a vision for Israel. She came to power in a palace coup and her only goal was to stay in power. The only way she was able to do that was by exercising a dictatorial style of leadership. Leaders like Athaliah demand total obedience from their subjects.

c. Their followers

Some of the Characteristics of bad leadership can be identified with the followers. One must take into consideration Anthony D'souza's statement that leadership involves an inter-relationship between three elements:

a) The quality skills and needs of the leader
b) The needs and expectations of the group
c) The demands or requirements of the situation.15

On several occasion Saul's men abandoned him in battle. On other occasions he forced them to do what he wanted. For instance, when he declared a fast until Israel completed the pursuit of their enemies. This caused the soldiers to sin in the end, by eating meat with blood or in other words, meat that was eaten raw and not cooked.

In the case of Rehoboam, the greater number of Israelites rejected his leadership and revolted against him. Samson's situation was even worse. His followers were willing to hand him over to their enemies. They saw him as the cause of their problems. Athaliah's followers revolted against her and killed her. None of these leaders chose their successor. In fact with the exception of Rehoboam they all died gruesome deaths. Rehoboam escaped such death, by buying peace from Shishak who was planning to invade Jerusalem. Rehoboam bought peace by giving him the treasures in the temple in Jerusalem.

Conclusion

In the introduction the following question was posed: 'Is it because someone failed that his/her leadership should be characterized as bad?' In attempting to answer this question, which forms the thesis of this chapter, the leadership of four leaders in the Bible has been examined. These leaders - Saul, Rehoboam, Samson and Athaliah, were selected because their leadership had been characterized as bad. The goal of the evaluation was to identity the main characteristics of their leadership in order to determine what was common to all and then compare these characteristics with those of good leadership.

END NOTES

1Joyce Peel, A Journey Trough the Old Testament: The Story of God's Relationship with Man, Woman and the World (Oxford: The Bible Reading Fellowship, 1993), p. 66.

2Ted W. Engstrom, The Making of a Christian Leader: How to Dvelop Management and Human Relations Skills (Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), p. 30.

3Ibid, p. 30.

4William J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel: It's Expression in the Book of the Old Testament (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), p. 80.

5William J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel: It's Expression in the Book of the Old Testament (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), p. 87.

6Joyce Peel, A Journey Trough the Old Testament: The Story of God's Relationship with Man, Woman and the World (Oxford: The Bible Reading Fellowship, 1993), p. 66.

7Joyce Peel, A Journey Trough the Old Testament: The Story of God's Relationship with Man, Woman and the World (Oxford: The Bible Reading Fellowship, 1993), p. 62.

8Author E. Cundell, Judges and Ruth: Tyndele Old Testament Commentaries (Illinois: Inter-varsity Press, 1968), p. 179.

9Eugene H. Merrill, 2 Chronicles: The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Colorado: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1985), p. 636.

10John J. Davis and John C. Whitcomb, Israel: A Commentary on Joshua - 2 Kings (Michigan: Baker Book House, 1970), p. 438.

11Bob Gordon and David Fardouly, Master Builder: Developing Life and Leadership in the Body of Christ (Kent: Sovereign World, 1990), p. 6.

12John Haggai, Lead On! Leadership that Endures in a Changing World (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1986), p. 16.

13John Maxwell, The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leaders Day in a Leader's Day: Revitalize Your Spirit and Empower Your Leadership, (Nashville Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), p. 4.

14Joyce Peel, A Journey Through The Old Testament: A Story Of God's Relationship With Man. Woman and The World (Oxford): The Bible Reading Fellowship, 1993), p. 62.

15Anthony D'souza, Being A Leader (Achimota: African Christian Press, 1990)

p. 811.

The Characteristics of Bad Leadership

Dr. Leopold A. Foullah is currently Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Mount Aureol, Freetown. He is also the General Superintendent of the Missionary Church of Africa, Sierra Leone Conference. He holds the following academic qualifications: Dip.Th., B.Th., M.Div., M.Th. and Ph.D (Leeds University, England). He is interested in Biblical Theology and Social Issues. He is External Examiner for both The Evangelical College of Theology (TECT), Jui and the Sierra Leone Theological College & Church Training Centre in Freetown. He is married with three children.

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Sample Performance Appraisal

A performance appraisal carried out for professional and administrative personnel and a confidential employee performance appraisal contains the names and job titles of employees and the department for which they work. It also states the names of the appraisers and their job titles. Performance appraisal sheets are normally divided into three main topics that are, evaluation or job performance area, ratings, and comments. The evaluation area comprises of various factors. These factors include job knowledge, professional competence, and managerial ability. Apart from these, productivity, quality of work, problem solving ability, communication, and initiative are also areas that need evaluation. Factors such as attitude and cooperation, personal leadership, adaptability, and self-improvement also cannot be ignored while evaluation.

Based on the appraisals, professional and administrative personnel can be rated as outstanding, excellent, acceptable, marginal, or deficient. The comments section contains improvements, suggestions, goals to be achieved, potential of employees, etc. Performance appraisals show the overall effectiveness of employees in their job performance, that is, it is a summary of all comments. Plans for professional growth is a section that supervisors and employees should develop cooperatively. This section includes additional responsibilities, management opportunities, special courses, committee assignments, etc. While evaluation, it is advisable to give examples of strengths and weaknesses of the employees as and when possible.

Leadership

Confidential employee performance appraisals also contain other job requirements such as focusing on specific needs of business or needs for individual improvement, public contact, ability to stay within cost guidelines, etc. They also give a performance summary, which shows the employee's outstanding and strongest points, employee's shortcomings and weaknesses, and specific accomplishments and changes since last performance review. They also help in deciding goals for improvement, that is how the employee can be more effective and what additional training can be helpful.

Sample Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisals also have an employee feedback section. This section contains the employee's most important accomplishments on the job, weakest job performance areas, areas in need of improvement, and other work concerns they would like to discuss. It also provides the date scheduled for the next review and the areas targeted for improvement.
Sample Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisals provides detailed information on How to Write a Performance Appraisal, Job Performance Appraisals, Performance Appraisal Software, Performance Appraisal Systems and more. Performance Appraisals is affiliated with Manufacturing Performance Management.

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Leadership in Organization

Effective managers are not necessarily true leaders. Many administrators, supervisors, and even top executives execute their responsibilities successfully without being great leaders. But these positions afford opportunity for leadership. The ability to lead effectively, then, will set the excellent managers apart from the average ones.

Where as management must deal with the ongoing, day-to-day complexities of organizations, true leadership includes effectively orchestrating important change. While managing requires planning and budgeting routines, leading includes setting the direction (creating a vision) for the firm Management requires structuring the organization, staffing it with capable people, and monitoring activities; leadership goes beyond these functions by inspiring people to attain the vision. Great leaders keep people focused on moving the organization toward its ideal future, motivating them to over come whatever obstacles lie in the way.

Leadership

Organizations succeed or fail not only because of how well they are led but also because of how well followers follow. Just as managers are not necessarily good leaders, people are not always good followers. The most effective followers are capable of independent thinking and at the same time are actively committed to organizational goals. As a manager, you will be asked to play the roles of both leader and follower. As you lead the people who report to you, you will report to your boss. You will be a member of some teams and committees, and you may chair others. Effective followers are
distinguished from ineffective ones by their enthusiasm and commitment to the organization and to a person or purpose other than themselves or their own interests. They master skills that are useful to their organizations, and they hold to performance standards that are higher than required. To be a good leader you must become a good follower first.

Leadership in Organization

Leadership in Organization

The article was written by Patricia Coleman, a full-time employee of MillenniumEssays.com. Patricia specializes at custom written essays, and supervises projects in research paper [http://www.millenniumessays.com/research_paper.php] development.

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Ten Characteristics Of Leadership

Many people are interested in answering the question: "What makes a great leader?". What would you answer to that question? There are many lists of these traits written by others. These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic. According to him the most important trait is to be yourself! As you will see many of the traits of leadership require a great degree of self knowledge. Great leaders know themselves so they can be themselves.

1. Authenticity "After years of studying leaders and their traits, I believe that leadership begins and ends with authenticity."

Leadership

2. Desire to Serve Others "Authentic leaders genuinely desire to serve others through their leadership."

Ten Characteristics Of Leadership

3. Empowering People "They are more interested in empowering the people they lead to make a difference than they are in power, money, or prestige for themselves."

4. Guided by Heart, passion and compassion "They are as guided by qualities of the heart, by passion, and compassion, as they are by qualities of the mind."

5. Recognize their shortcomings "Authentic leaders use their natural abilities, but they also recognize their shortcomings and work hard to overcome them."

6. Lead with Purpose "They lead with purpose, meaning and values."

7. Build Enduring Relationships "They build enduring relationships with people."

8. Clear Where They Stand "Others follow them because they know where they stand."

9. Refuse to Compromise "When principles are tested, they refuse to compromise."

10. Develop Themselves "Authentic leaders are dedicated to developing themselves because they know that becoming a leader takes a lifetime of personal growth."

Ten Characteristics Of Leadership

About Alvah Parker

Alvah Parker is a Practice Advisor (The Attorneys' Coach) and a Career Changers' Coach as well as publisher of Parker's Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. Subscribe now to these free monthly publications at her website http://www.asparker.com/samples.html

Parker's Value Program© enables her clients to find their own way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. Her clients are attorneys and people in transition who want to find work that is in line with their own life purpose. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.

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Leadership Through Accountability - The 5 Essentials

So many workplace issues, from employee job performance and engagement, to driving business results, customer loyalty, and profitability could be easily resolved if more managers engaged in holding themselves and their team accountable.  Accountability for some seems to be a bad word that leads to low worker morale. Some see it as a form of workplace bullying, but there is nothing further from the truth.

The word accountability is often inaccurately defined, and ineffectively applied. In the workplace, accountability is defined as the act of holding others responsible or answerable for their actions (good or bad), for exemplary job performance, and achieving business results. Accountability is not demoralizing staff members for the sake of making a point or an example of them. It is not directing staff members in a condescending manner, or by fear and intimidation.

Leadership

Accountability is about setting the expectation, clearly communicating it, and then holding yourself and everyone within your sphere of influence responsible for consistently meeting the established expectations. Accountability is a process, with a beginning and an end. It is not about telling people what you expect them to do, then quickly moving on to the next thing.

Leadership Through Accountability - The 5 Essentials

As I travel the country sharing basics to build leadership effectiveness,  I consistently emphasize  the importance of leadership and employee accountability in creating a sustaining a culture of service, performance, and operational excellence. While many leaders strongly agree with me, few know what is necessary to ensure accountability in the workplace. There are five specific steps to holding employees accountable for excellence. Growing up as a young manager, my mentors demonstrated these five steps which such a high level of intensity, sincerity, and finesse that I had no option but to accept personal accountability for driving excellence.

Step 1 - Clearly define the expectation or standard - People cannot be held accountable for what they have not been informed of. Don't assume employees know what a good job looks like. Paint the picture by clarifying, detailing, and outlining what you expect. Keep in mind, you don't clarify expectations after something goes wrong, at that point you should be reinforcing them. Here's an example of what I am speaking of: Excellence in an office setting at the reception desk means the workplace is immaculate, spotless; the telephone calls are answered within three rings (and with a smile); employees are appropriately attired, wearing their proper name tag; every visitor who enters the reception area immediately receives a warm and friendly greeting, using their name when and if possible.

Step #2 - Involve staff in efforts to raise the bar - Once the expectations have been defined, they should be shared with employees during departmental meetings. Then staff members should be given an opportunity to voice their opinions or concerns regarding the new standard. To ensure clarity and gain buy-in, ask questions like: Do you think that we can achieve this new standard? What do you believe might stand in the way? What potential barriers might we face? What do we need (i.e. tools, resources, training) to consistently meet the new standard or expectation? In the long run, giving employees an opportunity to voice their concerns will enhance their commitment and support of the new standard or expectation. It shows that you care, value their opinions, and demonstrates that you are committed to making them a part of the solution and are not just forcing the new standard down their throats.

Step #3 - Integrate the new standard - Now its time for all of the talking, brainstorming, and sharing of ideas and best practices to turn into action. To build accountability, the newly agreed upon standard or expectation must be fully integrated into every aspect of the work environment - to include the training and development process, performance review criteria, and all applicable systems and work processes. This shows that you are thorough, mean business, and have a sustainability strategy in mind. And guess what? Your team should be 100% involved in this process - to build teamwork, camaraderie, and to make them feel like valued contributors to the organization's success.

Step 4 - Set up measurements to quantify success - Use internal, key indicators or measurements to assess how effective the team is at following and upholding the new standard or expectation. Key indicators might include customer and employee satisfaction survey results, productivity reports, or even labor turnover results. If your company doesn't have a process in place to measure key indicators like these, then work with your team to create a simplistic scorecard that everyone can understand and support.

Step 5 - Recognize success, and coach for improved performance - Make it a priority to regularly acknowledge and reward employees who consistently exemplify the new standard or expectation. This not only encourages them to keep up the good work, but it also sets the standard by which everyone should be measured. And don't overlook those employees who fall below the standard by not consistently meeting performance expectations. Commit to routine coaching and counseling, working with them on an improvement plan to help them achieve success.

Early in my career as a manager, often I realized that employees weren't living up to my expectations in their job. At first, I thought just telling them what was expected was enough, but boy was I wrong. It wasn't until I began modeling the actions and behaviors of my mentors that I was able to drive success and overall accountability within my team.

Leadership Through Accountability - The 5 Essentials

Theo Gilbert-Jamison is CEO of Performance Solutions by Design, a global performance consulting firm that caters to luxury and premium brands with an emphasis on transforming organizational culture. She is also the author of two books, The Six Principles of Service Excellence (2005), and The Leadership Book of Numbers, Volume I (2008). As the creative force behind Performance Solutions by Design, Theo is a highly sought after speaker and consultant to CEOs and senior executives in high profile organizations.

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Leadership - The Art Of Leadership, Six Key Leadership Skills

As business owners, we must develop leadership qualities if we want our business to succeed. Whether our desire is to be a leader or not, there are specific skills that must be developed. Leadership styles will differ according to various personalities but main qualities must exist for excellence. Below are five critical keys of leadership.

1. Principle Centered Leadership: This should be the most important quality on our list of priorities. Without this, a company will eventually collapse. A company may grow and even succeed for a period of time, however, at some point the facade will become it's downfall. Integrity, honesty, treating others with respect, honor, loyalty, etc., will build a solid foundation for a long term lucrative business.

Leadership

2. Assessing situations logically: A good leader is able to evaluate information in a logical manner and make decisions accordingly. They take into account all angles and consequences of that decision. They have the ability to problem solve. They look at obstacles as temporary and stay focused on the main goal. Hurdles are challenges rather than road blocks.

Leadership - The Art Of Leadership, Six Key Leadership Skills

3. Being decisive and taking immediate action when necessary: Leaders have the ability to act promptly when the situation calls for it. They recognize that hesitation in some situations may be detrimental. It is important to be cautious and think things through from all angles, however, opportunities can be lost by over thinking and not acting in a timely manner.

4. Communication: Effectively communicating with others is crucial. We all have various types of personalities and ways of communicating. Concentrate on the strengths you have and work on those. The main key to communication is understanding the other person. Leaders have the ability to create confidence and loyalty because they are genuinely concerned about others. They are willing to listen to the ideas and input of those around them. They value others and do not feel threatened by building others up.

5. Healthy self esteem: Leaders are content with the qualities they possess but are constantly striving for self improvement. Leaders learn from the success of other leaders and try to duplicate it. Maintaining their own personal uniqueness, identity, and personal value system is important to their overall sense of well being. They understand who they are and focus on their strengths. They maintain a quiet confidence in their abilities and talents. Successful leaders understand and live by the following principle; "You can be a first rate you, but only a second rate someone else".

6. Lead by example: Leaders are willing to do difficult things: They do not ask someone else to do something they themselves would not be willing to do. Some of the most influential and powerful leaders throughout history started at the bottom. They were not handed their success, they earned it through hard work and dedication. They do not expect respect from others, they earn the respect. Being tenacious is one of their most notable qualities. They have the ability after falling down to pick themselves back up and begin again.

Some are born with natural leadership qualities while others through determination develop them.
In every group situation a leader will evolve. People like to have a strong and competent leader to follow. It is the desire within us to either lead or follow. If we aspire for leadership, then we must learn and implement the qualities exceptional leaders have.

Leadership - The Art Of Leadership, Six Key Leadership Skills

La Donna Jensen is an expert in marketing and sales for over 15 years. Marketing consultant for a radio show and magazine. Successful owner of own business and Internet entrepreneur. For more articles on marketing and advertising visit, http://www.aaronsonlineboutique.com/articles

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