People who fall under our leadership in any situation will simply do what they see, or don't see, you do. Leading effectively can be a challenge only if you're leading the wrong way. Dr. Ellen Weber wrote an article on how she finds that in her business travels, leaders are challenged in most every area of effectiveness. She also shares how we can challenge ourselves to become not only more useful, but more accepted. If you will notice, each of her points that she gives us comes in the form of a verb. Leaders are only effective as they do. The cliche, do what I say and not what I do is not only overused but unacceptable in any form of leadership. Leaders must manage and do by example and not by word. We must be careful of what we say, and what we do, because there are people watching.
With leadership comes a certain level of responsibility and where failure simply is not acceptable. Those who lead others in masses or small numbers are in control of a certain quality that can cause them to be revered or for mutiny to be declared. That quality or characteristic is their sense of moral beliefs. Whenever a leader's morals are called into question, there is a cloud of doubt that hangs over the heads of his or her followers that keeps them from giving that leader 100% of their attention and devotion. No matter if what the leader touts is real, believable, able to be proven or otherwise, if there is a flaw in his moral fiber, there will always be a seed of discord in the ranks. While yes I agree that you will never have 100% devotion from those that follow you, I propose to you that if are honest and make people aware of their opposition to your beliefs, you are more likely to get more to follow than not.Have you ever or do you know of any situation of someone who has lost followers because of their questionable moral beliefs or ethics? Do share.
Individuals are responsible for fixing themselves. Leading by example is a noble concept, but at the end of the day everyone is accountable for their own performance. I think if a manager isn't any good at hiring, they would produce an inferior product. This book is great: http://dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=72657 , it is a book on business leadership by real business leaders. I think there's a ton of procedural and team stuff to be learnt from it.
Posted by: Doris | December 12, 2007 6:15 PM | Permalink to Comment