Every leader secretly knows they are a bundle of strengths and weaknesses. Great leaders not only know it, they own it. We can all boost our leadership to new levels if we will integrate these seven basic practices into our daily routines.
- Setting the example
Leaders know that everything starts with them. Those we lead are more likely to repeat what they see us doing than they are to do what they hear us saying. You have heard it said, “Your actions are speaking so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.” Our greatest leadership impact happens when our words and our actions are in alignment.
- Clarifying their vision
Motivation and commitment live down stream from a clearly articulated vision. When great leaders see commitment and motivation waning in those they lead they know it is time to clarify the vision. Clarifying vision is a never-ending work of heart. Someone has well said the reason we have to work so hard at maintaining a clear vision is that – vision leaks. Leaders can easily bring clarity to the vision by celebrating the relationships, behaviors and the results that demonstrate vision progress and accomplishment.
- Strengthening their people skills
It is helpful to be an intelligent leader. However, it is equally important to be able manage your emotions as you connect and collaborate with others. Leaders with low self-awareness and relational intelligence leave a trail of doubt, stress and wasted resources behind them.
- Sharing their leadership
Great leaders share leadership at appropriate levels. They closely guide and coach beginning team members. They empower and release those who can easily move the ball down the field. Their secret is they know the difference between delegation and abdication. Careful delegation means matching the task we give team members to their level of competency. Abdication means we simply move work off of our desk on to the desk of others without consideration of their capacity to do it.
- Expanding their communication skills
Communicating effectively with those we lead is a daily challenge. The constant noise of technology, social media and our own personal lives make it hard for those we lead to hear us. Some say it takes hearing information up to seven different times before it is truly heard and acted upon. The reality is effective leaders tirelessly work on ways to clearly say what they need from people and why they need it to get the results necessary to accomplish the mission.
- Learning from their mistakes
If you are in a leadership role eventually you are going to fail. You know it. They know it. To deny it is to loose leadership credibility. To lead, fail and learn from your mistakes is to – fail forward. We know it is true that history is doomed to repeat itself when we don’t learn from it. We are doomed to repeat our leadership history if we don’t take time to learn from both our successes and failures and make changes.
- Developing those around them
It is conventional wisdom for leaders to say that people are their greatest resource. Great leaders don’t see people as resources. They see them as co-laborers and they invest resources in them. They seem to comprehend the old proverb that says, if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. Going together requires development. Trying to lead a team of people that you are not developing is not much more effective than going alone.
We boost our ability to lead others by doing what God has uniquely called us to do in our family, church, business or neighborhood. In addition we can begin incorporate these seven leadership disciplines in to our prayer and leadership practices. Those we lead will notice the change.
