I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. -Henry David Thoreau
Be proactive.
Begin with the end in mind.
Put first things first.
Think win/win.
Seek first to understand and then to be understood.
Create synergy.
Some smart, creative people have no limit in their success, due to the lack of limitations in their leadership ability.
The true measure of leadership is influence-
- True leadership can not be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that can not be mandated; only earned.
- Leadership is about getting others to follow.
- Management is about maintaining the direction of influence.
- An entrepreneur may be skilled at seeing opportunity, but needs to be talented in expressing their vision.
- Intelligence/education do not define a leader.
- Titles do not define leaders; leaders define titles.
The true culmination of a leader is-
- Character - who they are.
- Intuition - what they feel.
- Knowledge - what they know.
- Relationships - who they know.
- Experience - where they've been.
- Ability - what they can do.
Leadership develops daily, not in a day.
- Continually invest in your leadership development and growth over time is inevitable.
- The capacity to develop and improve one's skills is what distinguishes leaders from their followers.
- Successful leaders are students, and their education is ongoing; a result of self-discipline and perseverance.
- The secret of success in life is that one be ready for their time when it comes.
- Champions don't become champions in the ring; they are merely recognized there.
Anyone can steer a ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.
- First-rate leaders never forget about those depending on them when they chart the course to the goal.
Exceptional leaders-
- Draw on past experiences - past successes and failures are valuable for gains in knowledge and wisdom.
- Examine the conditions before making commitments - count costs for all involved.
- Listen to what others have to say - think in terms of relying on a team.
- Make sure their conclusion represents both faith and fact - balancing optimism and realism.
Predetermine a course of action.
Lay out your goals.
Adjust your priorities.
Notify key personnel.
Allow time for acceptance.
Head into action.
Expect problems.
Always point to the successes.
Daily review your plan.
Leaders add value by serving others.
- The attitude of the leader affects the surrounding atmosphere.
- Success is the result of treating others well.
- The bottom-line in leadership isn't self-advancement, but the advancement of others.
- Are you making things better for the people who follow you?
- Effective leaders go far beyond not harming others by intentionally helping them.
- Growing personally makes you more valuable and allows you more to offer your followers.
- Learn what is valuable to your followers and lead based on what you've learned.
- Do things that God values.
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. -Matthew 23:11 KJV
Trust is the foundation of leadership. It is the most important thing.
- Leaders can not repeatedly break trust with their followers and continue to influence them.
- Fess up to your mistakes.
- Exemplify competence, connection and character.
- Character communicates consistency.
- Character communicates potential.
- Character communicates respect.
Leaders gain respect through-
- Natural leadership ability - if you possess it, people will want to follow you.
- Respect for others - give respect and get respect.
- Courage - doing what is right, even with the risk of failure.
- Success - leading the team to victory enables them to believe they can do it again.
- Loyalty - sticking with the team until the job is done and looking out for their followers best interests, even when it hurts the leader personally.
- Value added to others - followers value leaders who add value to them.
People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.
Leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias.
Leadership intuition is the ability of the leader to read what's going on. Leaders must also be readers of-
- Their situation - picking up all the details.
- Trends - always being a few steps ahead.
- Their resources - constant awareness of what is at their disposal.
- People - understanding people's hopes, fears and concerns.
- Themselves - awareness of one's own strengths and weaknesses; avoiding hindering progress.
Who you are is who you attract.
If you want to attract better people, become the type of person you desire to attract.
Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
For leaders to be effective, they need to connect with the people.
- Believe in who you are and where you are going.
- Communicate with openness and sincerity.
- Know your audience - learn their names, history and dreams.
- Practice what you preach.
- Adapt to others; don't expect them to adapt to you.
- Focus on others, not yourself.
- Communicate with people because you believe they have value.
- Leaders are dealers in hope.
Be an initiator- take the first step towards others and then make the effort to continue building relationships.
To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart.
A leader's potential is determined by those closest to him.
Nobody does anything great alone, no do leaders succeed alone. What makes the difference is the leader's inner circle.
When evaluating members of the inner circle, one might ask-
- Do they have high influence with others?
- Do they possess strengths in your areas of weakness?
- Do they hold a strategic position in the organization?
- Do they add value to you and the organization?
- Do they positively impact other inner circle members?
Once you've reached your capacity in time and energy, the only way you can increase your impact is through others.
Surround yourself with top-performers that extend your influence beyond your reach and help you to grow into a better leader.
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. -Theodore Roosevelt
If you want to become successful, you have to be willing to empower others.
Leaders fail to empower others because-
- A lack of self-worth.
- Most people don't like change.
- A fear of losing what you have.
People do what they see.
When led by righteous example, followers copy the displayed actions and succeed.
Great leaders are both highly visionary and highly practical. Leaders possess an understanding how-
- Mission provides purpose.
- Vision provides a picture.
- Strategy provides a plan.
Leaders are paid to be dreamers. The higher you go in leadership, the more your work is about the future. -Hans Finzel
As you become a better example, remember that-
- Followers are always watching what you do.
- It is easier to teach what is right than to do what is right.
- You should work on improving yourself before improving others.
- The most valuable gift a leader can give is being a good example.
The leader finds the dream and then the people. The people find the leader and then the dream.
People buy into the leader first, and then the leader's vision.
Having a great vision and a worthy cause is not enough to get people to follow you. You have to become a better leader; you must get people to buy into you and your vision if you want it to become reality.
Victorious leaders have one thing in common: they share an unwillingness to accept defeat. There is no alternative to winning. Leaders figure out what must be done to achieve victory.
The best leaders feel compelled to rise to every challenge and believe-
- Losing is unacceptable.
- Passion is unquenchable.
- Quitting is unthinkable.
- Passion is unquenchable.
- Commitment is unquestionable.
- Victory is inevitable.
A team's dedication to victory consists of-
- Their unity of vision.
- Their diversity of skills.
- A leader dedicated to victory and raising people to their potential.
When you have no momentum, even the simplest tasks seem impossible.
- Momentum is the leader's responsibility - creating momentum requires someone who has vision, can assemble a good team, and motivates others.
- Momentum begins inside the leader - with vision, passion, and enthusiasm, the leader attracts like-minded people to his team and forward progress is made.
- Momentum makes things look bigger than they really are - this has such an impact that every leader should work to control it.
- Momentum makes leaders look better than they are - once a leader creates some success for their organization, people give them more credit than they deserve.
- Momentum helps followers perform better - when momentum is strong, people are motivated to perform at higher levels.
- Momentum is easier to steer than to start - it may take a while to get going, but once you're moving forward, you can really start to do some amazing things.
- Momentum is the most powerful agent of change - followers trust leaders with a proven track record.
Know what's important, to see how everything relates to the overall vision.
- Requirement - what is required?.
- Return - what gives the greatest return?
- Reward - what brings the greatest reward?
Leaders are often asked to give up more than others.
Leadership success requires continual sacrifice, constant improvement, and ongoing sacrifice.
The higher the level of leadership, the greater the sacrifice.
Timing is often the difference between success and failure in an endeavor.
Every time a leader makes a move, there are really only four outcomes:
- The wrong action at the wrong time leads to disaster.
- The right action at the wrong time brings resistance.
- The wrong action at the right time is a mistake.
- The right action at the right time results in success.
You can grow by leading followers, but pushing your organization to achieve it's maximum potential requires developing leaders.
Leaders who attract followers but never develop leaders get tired.
Leaders who develop leaders impact those far beyond their personal reach.
A leader's lasting value is measured by succession.
- Know the legacy you want to leave.
- Live the legacy you want to leave.
- Choose who will carry on your legacy.
- Make sure you pass the baton.
