To run a successful business there must be those who rise up and lead, and as a lead climber does, one must step up and make many decisions that will be crucial to the life of the company. As a leader you will not be alone. You will have those who are beside you who, when you begin the climb, will be there to catch you if you fall. There are also many tools available that you must use to aid you in getting to the top.

To have leadership that gets results many of the same responsibilities that a lead climber has must be taken on. The first responsibility a leader has is planning out and taking the correct line. Remember, others who follow behind you will take the same rou

te you did, make sure its where you want them to go. The second is using the proper tools available at the right times. Often, leaders feel like they have to do everything. Trust and teamwork must come into play. You hire specific people who all have different skills an abilities for a reason, use them. Lastly, setting up a secure anchor. If you do not have a secure anchor to rely on and keep you steady as you make your way to the top, there will come a time when something will happen and because of a lack of an anchor you and others may fall.

These of course are only a few of the responsibilities necessary to lead, and every leader will need to carry out these responsibilities in the way that is specifically tailored to their companies needs. When things get a bit challenging, tie in and climb on, the rewards waiting at the top are well worth the effort.

Within most organizations there is a management / leadership track – take advantage of this track by further refining and developing the leadership and management skills you already possess.

1. Improve your Peer-Leadership Skills 
 Build a reputation as a leader among your peers.  Actions speak louder than words.  At various meetings, listen and speak only when you have something important to say that will help the group to move forward.  Do not focus on negative issues.  Identifying problems is one of the easiest things to do; there is no great demand for problem identifiers, but there is a great demand for problem solvers.  Be Solution Oriented:  if you address a problem, be sure that you have a potential solution to discuss as well.  Share information and communicate often with your peers.  This helps you and others to grow and develop.

2. Improve your Administrative Skills
 Develop an administrative competence in every form of communication and logistical follow up you perform in your job.  Cultivate a reputation as someone who produces high-quality work no matter what your endeavor, no matter who your audience.

3. Develop your General Leadership Skills
 Leadership is a learned skill.  Constantly seek to learn from those successful leaders within and outside your organization.  What pearl or pearls of wisdom can you pick up and use to help you become a leader?  Pick and choose from their leadership styles, yet make it your own as you continue to develop your personal style.  Whatever style you choose, keep these “pearls of wisdom” in the forefront of your mind and think about how to apply them as you move forward in two key areas – achieving bottom line results for your organization and developing your people.

Here are some key ideas to consider as you move along this path of continuous leadership improvement during the first half of the New Year:

• Know yourself and seek self-improvement opportunities

• Be technically proficient and know how to apply your knowledge

• Seek out responsibility and take responsibility for your actions

• Make sound and timely decisions

• Set a good example for others

• Know your people and look out for their wellbeing

• Keep your people well informed

• Help your people develop a sense of responsibility

• Ensure that task job tasks you delegate are understood, supervised, and accomplished

• Train your people as a team

• Develop plans of action that are in accordance with your team’s capabilities

We have just been though one of the greatest financial crisis in the history of the world.  The world goes further into debt.  Companies struggle to be profitable.  We continue to see the bickering of politicians and watch the business-as-usual with our governments.  The wars in foreign countries continue.   We continue to watch the further disintegration of the family system and family values.  And through all of this, one asks “Where are the leaders?”  What is leadership?  Who is a leader?

Regardless of our position in life, all of us can and should be leaders.  So what is leadership?  “Leadership is the ability to decide what is to be done, and then get others to want to do it.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower

Leaders accomplish things by leading.  That is, by guiding and helping other people.  Dictators issue orders, using fear and punishment to command compliance.  Leaders shape people’s opinions and win their enthusiasm, using every available opportunity to send out their message (VISION) and win supporters (Noel Tichy, The Leadership Engine).  Dictators break people down to feel inadequate, incapable, and don’t know much about the value people and their power.

What makes a leader?  A leader has VISION about what needs to be done.  He/she makes changes and helps others to make changes in order to see the VISION through completion.

What is your VISION about leadership?  What is the vision that you have about leading your family, in your community, in your employment, in your religious organization, or in your own personal development? As we talk about vision and change, there are a number of tools that can be used to help lead others towards change:

· Situational Leadership by Paul Hersey & Ken Blanchard (1984)

o Directing

o Coaching

o Supporting

o Delegating

· The Coach by Steven Stowell & Matt Starcevich (1987)

o Be Supportive

o Define the Topic and Needs

o Establish Impact

o Initiate a Plan

o Get a Commitment

o Confront Excuses / Resistance

o Clarify Consequences

o Don’t Give Up

· The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (1989)

o Be Proactive

o Begin with the End in Mind

o Put First Things First

o Think Win/Win

o Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

o Synergize

o Sharpen the Saw

· Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (1995)

o Self-awareness

o Self-regulation

o Motivation

o Empathy

o Social Skill/Team Builders

· E’s of Excellence by Curtis Reese (2000)

o Ethic (Work hard and Smart)

o Ego (Strong Ambition to Win)

o Empathy (Meet their needs)

o Empower (Help them to Help Themselves)

o Enthusiasm (Full of Energy)

o Education (Continue to Learn)

o Exercise (Stay Healthy)

o Execute (Put your Plan into Action)

Let’s take a closer look at Curtis Reese’s E’s of Excellence and what they means.  What can you take away from one or more of these areas so that you can be a better leader as you travel down the path of continuous improvement.

· ETHIC

o How committed are we to the task or job at hand when we are at work?

o Do we go beyond company demands?

o Why do our services provide value to our customers?

o Do we work beyond the mark, within the norm or outside the box?

· EGO / AMBITION

o I want to provide the very best service because I want to drive results.

o I want to be a top performer because it is who I am.

o Our services are better because we value our cusomter

o I have quiet confidence because I believe that success is a journey, not a destination.

· EMPATHY

o What are my customers’ needs and how can I help them fulfill those needs?

o How does my customer, family member, religious leader, community leader, view the situation.

o How and in what way do our products/services satisfy our customers’ needs.

o I am aware that a statue has never been set-up to honor a critic and understand the metaphor.

· EMPOWER

o Allow others to help you accomplish your goals

o Compliment everyone around you; make them feel good about their contribution.

o Realize that the sole advantage of power is the ability to do more good.

o Empower your people to make your organization’s services even better by sharing ideas.

· EDUCATION

o Be a general student and always learn.

o Knowledge is POWER!

o The glory of God is intelligence.

o When you stop learning, you stop life itself.

o Don’t learn for the sake of learning, let your knowledge lead to action

o Teach and share your skills with someone else.

· ENTHUSIASM

o Enthusiasm, Energy, and Emotion can all have positive effects on what you do and on the people you come in contact with.

o Even your dog can feel your energy level; be aware of the effect you have on others.

o No one wants to get a “Kick In The Pants,” but it will raise their level of focus and attention.

o Clear your mind of the word “CAN’T.”

· EXERCISE

o Your most important asset is your health.  What do you do to protect your health?

o You buy insurance to cover all your material possessions

o You need a healthy diet and exercise for both the body and the soul.

· EXECUTE

o Live your goals and make your dreams become reality.

o There are three kinds of people:  those who wonder what happened, those who watch what happens, and those who make things happen.  What kind of person are you?  What about the people you lead?

Each one of us has the ability to look like a leader and act like a leader just by making minor improvements in our leadership skills each day.  James Michener, author of “The Tales of the South Pacific,”  wrote; “The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion.  He hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leading others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.”

I relate this story of the steering wheel because the world economy is going through some stormy waters.  Although the changes going on may turn out to be good in the long run, it is still difficult to stay the course in the middle of these “troubled waters”.  More than ever we need strong leaders to step up and take the “helm”, provide guidance, and “steer” their teams in the right direction.

A strong leader will effectively partner with each employee and provide direction, guidance, and coaching.  He or she can help team member adjust their personal courses and move into “smooth water”.

Providing constant support takes a lot of effort but it will be worth it in the long run. Consider the following points when helping your team stay afloat:

Communicating frequently with each team member

-Will reduce or eliminate fear of the unknown

-Encourages confidence in individual performance

Building understanding within your team

-Instills ownership in the tasks to ensure success

-Keeps each person focused on the goal

Encouraging respect between members

-Promotes synergy

-Supports a relaxed and engaging environment

Maintaining your integrity

-Retains trust in you and the organization high

-Inspires integrity from team members

“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required.”

-Winston Churchill

However, the act infuriated the blocked car’s driver. With a smirk on drivers face and a “me first” attitude, the driver eased the car forward almost pinning the young girl between the two cars. While people in both cars were too impatient for the situation, the driver’s action was potentially dangerous. Had the driver accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake, the girl would have been badly injured if not killed. This driver’s “me first” attitude was noticed by several other drivers. In an unspoken group effort, the errant driver was deliberately boxed in for several extra minutes while others exited.

With the all the negative news on television, radio and newsprint, many people may demonstrate this “me first” mentality. We can understand their fear, as no one wants to lose their job, income, or current standard of living. Yet, this mentality harms not only harms team members and the organization, but that person’s competence and performance as well. When their intentions are to prove their personal importance, they tend to make less desirable decisions, sabotage other’s efforts, and in the end bring their fear to fruition.

As a leader you can do many things to help avert this “me first” behavior. Consider the following as you choose your course of action

1. Remain positive in your speech and actions. Your team will reflect your attitude; if you are positive, team members will feel more secure.
2. Keep communication lines open with everyone. Don’t keep secrets. Secrets have a way of being shared and peoples trust in you can be lost.
3. Give constant and honest feedback. Don’t lie; people recognize a lie very quickly. Lies generate fear.
4. Encourage innovation and creativity. Ask them to look for processes that can streamline, boost efficiency, or increase savings. Make them a part of the solution.
5. Impress on individuals that through team effort the organization can survive a negative environment. There is power in numbers if corrective action is taken.
6. Encourage employee development through training. Training increases the feeling of security (If the organization values me enough to train me, then I am important).

If you remain optimistic, the members will respond in a like manner. Your team will not continue to perform proficiently but serve as a model of teamwork to others in the organization.

Allen states, “A man can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up his thoughts.” How true? A person dwelling in the negative is rarely if ever an effective leader. How could she/he be? Without seeking positive outcomes, a person focused on the negative will be self-guided in that direction. I liken this to sports psychologists who talk about envisioning the outcome. For example, a professional golfer will typically stand behind their upcoming shot and envision their swing, the flight of the ball and the outcome of the well executed shot.

There are many examples of psychology throughout sports. Sports psychology has been around for years, but not something most fans give much thought.  Tiger Woods, one of the world’s best golfers began seeing a sports psychologist as early as age 13.  Sports psychology to the professional athlete has become an absolute must in development and continued success. I would venture to say that whether with the coaching of a professional sports psychologist or self directed effort, the overriding theme is a positive outlook, or envisioning the desired outcome from a perfect execution of the action required.

Some years ago, I was able to attend a World Cup Slalom event. (I admit, it was 25 years ago and during the competitive years of the brothers Phil and Steve Mahre). I arrived early enough to observe the pre-race activities and witnessed the ski racers equivalent of the “pre-shot routine.” The most successful racers were starting at the bottom of the course and side stepping up the mountain. They would stop after every 5 or so gates and go through a routine of memorizing the course and envisioning how they would attack each gate. They continued this to the top of the course and by the time they reached the starting gate, had memorized the entire course and knew exactly how they wanted and needed to ski the race and win. They had envisioned every turn, the entire race and themselves finishing as fast as possible. It was an amazing experience that has stayed with me these many years.

We may not see our leaders making the same external motions as a golfer or skier when they envision the successfully executed actions needed to achieve their objectives, but they best do it. Much like an athlete, true leaders will take a thought and develop it into an achievable plan. They then envision the course of the process through to the desired outcome.

Of course, there is much more to it than that. One cannot simply envision the successful outcome of action and expect it to happen. There are many other and important elements, such as the supportive and collaborative efforts of other personnel. The true leader has included these other factors and will trust in the system they’ve created.

These are some of my thoughts from As A Man Thinketh, chapter five.   I invite you to click the link below to download your own copy of the book. Read it at your convenience and determine for yourself if it has value as a guide to qualities of leadership.

We would probably all agree that a great leader is one who can effectively convey their vision to others and evoke a purposeful outcome. Many of us often assume Presidents and CEOs of organizations are supposed to be the visionary, strategically minded individuals who direct the efforts of the organization.  In chapter four, Allen points out that, “until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment.” This is, indeed, what sets a leader apart from a dreamer, or one who may have wonderful ideas, but is without the capacity to turn thought into action. Leaders must not only see the big picture, but also be skilled in guiding actions necessary for those ideas to become reality.

Allen goes on to strengthen his point by explaining that vision with dedicated and concentrated direction achieves great results. I believe most of us, at one point or another, have known leaders who had the vision and were able to clearly define what the vision meant to the organization. They were skillful in utilizing subordinate leaders to delegate and guide their teams to successfully accomplish goals and tasks to fulfill the vision. I’m also sure many of you have known leaders who weren’t able to effectively share their vision. They were in essence a dreamer, who hoped their vision would somehow be filtered to and be carried out by others. These were, in fact, not true leaders.

Recently, economic downturn has caused many leaders to re-evaluate their strategic plans. Budget cuts and layoffs have become commonplace throughout many industries.  I would venture to say that not many leaders prefer this course of action, or see it as part of a positive growth strategy.  However, our environment continually changes and strategies must be modified.   A leader must somehow be able to effectively convey the reasoning behind these changes to strategy without losing the support of their team or organization. Acting irrationally or “knee-jerk” reactions, may cause discomfort and resentment within others.

These are some of thoughts on chapter four in As A Man Thinketh. I invite you to click the link below to download your own copy of the book. Read it at your convenience and determine for yourself if it has value as a guide to qualities of leadership.