Leadership and becoming a great leader

Great leaders can move mountains, Good leaders are always improving and Poor Leaders can destroy the world. It is so important to allow your staff to develop as leaders. There is a huge difference between a leader and a manager. Most people assume that all managers are leaders because of the title but it is just not true.

I use to always tell my Marine Corporals, "If you want to be Sergeants you act like a Sergeant now. Too many Sergeants have the rank and don't know how to lead. In the Marine Corps you earn every title by deserving the title before it is given."

We should look at our staff the same way. I made the mistake one time of giving the title of VP to one of my employees before I really knew what she was capable of. In fact I even gave her some ownership. Learn from my mistakes, DON'T ever give up ownership or titles before they are earned. I thought that by giving the title and some ownership that I would get an employee that appreciated her job. Instead I got a Vice President that felt under appreciated. Needless to say that one did not work out well.

Leaders have the ability to handle everything with fairness. They make decisions quickly and take full responsibility. There are 9 leadership traits.

Justice, Judgement, Discipline, Integrity, Decisiveness, Tact, Initiative, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Endurance. All of these traits can be learned and improved upon.

There is a huge debate as to whether or not leaders are born leaders or become leaders. I personally believe that all of us are born with certain gifts. Some of those gifts are developed and others are not. Just because a leader does not have the ability to communicate does not mean they can not lead. In fact a good leader will figure out a way to communicate even though they lack in that area. I believe anyone can become a leader. It takes a humble heart and a willingness to have the courage to step out of your comfort zone. Leaders continually stretch themselves and they love to be around Great Leaders.

Of the nine leadership traits which of them are the most important. I believe they are all very important but if you are lacking Integrity, Unselfishness, Knowledge or Tact it would be very difficult to even call you a leader. If you want to become a leader work on those area's you are lacking. I have a lifetime of experience with people and leadership roles and I am still learning everyday as times change. Leadership is constantly evolving and growing. A good leader 50 years ago would not make it in today's world. The dictator relationships Leaders use to have would completely get them shut down as managers today.

Today more leadership skills are required than ever. A leader has to be able to see the qualities in individuals that they do not see in themselves. You have to be able to see what their true skill sets are because a lot of people don't really know what they are capable of. You also have to be able to provide more responsibility to those you wish to build as leaders. Along with that responsibility comes the room for them to make mistakes. You can not build leaders by micro-managing them. You have to give them enough room to make mistakes and help them pull themselves out of the tight spots they get into. Encourage them.

Always make correction behind closed doors. Always give praise publicly. Read as many leadership books as you can get your hands on and listen to every tape you can. Pick up those things you believe and put aside those you don't. Continually work your skills.

I love giving leadership evaluations and assisting companies in finding good leaders with the right skill sets. I have even put together teams with little funds available. The most important thing you can look for when there is not enough money to buy the best is find a team that has the basics of Integrity, Loyalty, Discipline, Tact and Enthusiasm. All other skills can be taught fairly quickly.

I was challenged in an opportunity where a new company was preparing to go public. They wanted me to hire a sales team but did not want to pay commissions. WOW! What a challenge. I knew that I could not hire a seasoned sales professional for $30,000 a year with no bonus or commissions. I started with the basics mentioned above. I put together a team of character. I constantly worked on the upper management to provide a commission structure and a better base pay range. The hard charging team we put in place dug up enough orders that we could then afford to increase salaries and bring in some more professional experienced sales members. When commissions were added to their compensation and increased later on. The team was Rocking and Rolling. It was a great test of how good people can overcome anything. If I had complained about the salary's and no commissions. I would have had a team of complaining sales people. Instead they reflected my perseverance and enthusiasm and work ethic. They mirrored me which is always a scary thought.

I love leading teams.