7 Key Concepts for Contemporary Leaders

Few people would argue that leadership is something that is needed in every aspect of public life.  For some people, the important concepts of leadership can often be difficult to grasp. Perhaps it is a lack of mentoring or modeling that causes hesitancy in people to act in a leadership capacity.  Another problem could be simply not having the understanding of what is expected of a leader in business or organizations.  Here are seven key concepts every effective leader must capture to be most influential. 

1. Effective behavior: As stated above a lack of role models acting in a leadership role in communities, business and organizations is a problem for many people. A leader is willing to behave in a manner that exemplifies the values purported by the mission statement of the organization. This behavior should be consistent over time and promote high ethical standards for others in the organization to model. 

2. Stand for Something. A leader makes his or her choices obvious to those around them.  That is, the leader stands for something.  The old saying is that if you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything.  By standing for choices with a solid foundation, a leader demonstrates how to maintain standards and how to come to a good decision. 

3. Works With Others.  A leader must be able to work with everyone including the person with the worse personality or the person that never speaks up in a meeting.  Leaders lead so others are inspired to be better.  Without the ability to get along with others, organizational goals will be hindered.  A leader gets past petty surface issues and deals with people at all levels in ways that bring about, and maintain, harmony. 

4. Unites others.  Not only do leaders work well with other but they inspire others to work well with each other. Leaders have the ability to unite colleagues around a common vision.  That means having the ability to communicate so diverse listening audiences understand what the future of an organization will look like and have the desire to be a part of that future by uniting their talents with others. 

5. Influences Stakeholders. Organization stakeholders are people that have some type of vested interest in the success of an organization.  An effective leader is responsible to ensure that stakeholders understand the operating direction of the organization and they are supportive of the activities within the organization.  That means sharing the vision, mission, goals and priorities with the stakeholders so they can be a part of the organizations movement.   

6. Stays Committed. A leader grows in levels of trust and respect by those they influence by being committed to stated goals, no matter the cost. This commitment is to organization goals, to the people the leader leads, to getting through difficulties, and from not backing down from challenges.  Leaders are not blame-throwers.  When something goes wrong they are willing to face the difficulties and shoulder the blame as needed while working continually to find a solution to the problem. By being committed, the leader inspires commitment from others. 

7.  Futurists.  Leaders are the ultimate futurists. Never satisfied to stay in the status quo, the leader can see a better future then makes strategic plans to reach it with the backing of loyal followers. A leader is not complacent.  They capture an innate creativity that lets them form plans to move forward, never being totally satisfied with a situation at hand while a problem still exists. 

While these seven practices are not all encompassing to leadership, they provide a good frame for what to expect of a leader.  If you are a leader in your organization or business, expect to be a life-long learner of people and organizations.  Others will expect you to boldly take a stand so they can feel confident to follow where you lead.

The Power of Rethinking "Failure"

If you are a leader in business or an organization, take a new look at what you might have always perceived as failure. What if you could learn why you should look forward to failure, and how it can help you ultimately get where you want to go? For instance, when you read this statement, what’s your reaction?

“There is no such thing as failure.”  

Do you think it’s true? Maybe it makes sense to others but not to you. But what if you learned that you have the power to decide whether or not something is indeed, a “failure” or not, changing your whole idea about failure?  In fact, some highly successful people have already learned to look at the word failure in a very different way than others.  Let’s talk about why.

Why Others Watch a Leader Handle Failure 

Doing something that seems to be a failure shows the fact that you are only human. People watch how a person of stature handles a mistake and how that person recovers from it. Watching isn’t to be cruel, but it gives others hope that they too could recover from a mistake. 

Mistake making takes on a whole new form when a person sees how a leader faces and overcomes a problem. Everyone can have a failure or a setback but not everyone knows what to do about it. Making a successful comeback after a failure can increase your reputation, build confidence and show you as a person of integrity. The comeback doesn’t even have to be huge or earth shaking. It just has to happen. 

When “Failure” is Feedback 

What if starting today, the idea of failure took a radical change in your vocabulary? What if failure really meant a form of success? How could you acknowledge your success, even as you speak the word “failure”? Well, you can point out these ideas:  

• That everything you learned in the process of getting to where you are now is not going to get thrown out — you learned good things to keep along with the stuff that didn’t work.
• That simply being able to recognize everything hasn’t gone according to plan, or achieved the desired outcome (i.e. “failed”), is in itself a positive outcome
• That even if the specific method you used this time around wasn’t the right one for this situation, you can surely use bits and pieces and parts from what you learned in another project or idea.
• That you can eliminate and not repeat the same behaviors the next time a similar situation arises. Failing to achieve a goal in one way just increases your creative understanding of what works for a situation, project, or idea or what doesn’t.
• That you’ll know to do things differently in the future. You will create in a new way to approach a problem and your creating will be quicker and more confident as a result of knowing what not to do? 
• That the experience has enabled you to grow in some way. Adversities, set backs, failures, hard times — all of these things only make you a stronger and more confident person. 

Failure can simply be a great way to get you to pause in the midst of your process, and get some critical information to indicate that you may need to change directions, try something new, continue your learning, or shift your focus. 

Imagine what would happen if you didn’t get that feedback, and continued endlessly along the wrong path, towards the wrong goal, or without ever learning a new approach? It not a pretty thought. Therefore, make time to rethink the idea of failure. Failure can really be seen as positive feedback, providing information that gets you back on the right track! Without feedback you would surely be lost. The key is to quickly identify what isn’t working so you can change direction, try something new, or shift your focus. 

How would thinking of failure as a welcome invitation to understanding a better way to pursue you life dream change your thinking? Here are some tips: 

• Always have a clear idea of where you want to go and continue to re-evaluate it as you move forward
• Identify specific milestones or markers along the way, to let you know you’re on the right track and celebrate each success
• If something doesn’t appear to be working, or working fast enough, don’t hesitate to try something new
• Continually learn from others. These can be people you work with, experts in your field, mentors, or leaders that have travelled a similar road.

Remember, no one has to stay in the same place in life. If things are not working in the direction you are headed, stop and go another way. If you tried something one way, make a change in your activity until you find out what really works. Life is a series of starts and stops. Just think of how much experience you have in different areas of life when you try something and learn new things from that experience.

Keep trying new things; never plan to stop learning, trying, experimenting, and creating. This gives a leader the confidence needed to succeed. Consider the idea of rethinking failure as a way to reach success and strengthen your leadership skills instead of a way to set you back. You will take more risks, try more challenges and increase your overall successes.

Start Living Fully Today

Tomorrow never comes; once tomorrow gets here it’s today. Waiting for tomorrow to do what you should have started long ago is only going to keep you from ever succeeding.

It’s so easy to get into the habit of saying “Wait” or “I’ll do that later” instead of taking up the mantel of responsibility and just getting on with living life fully today. This isn’t saying you have to ignore the facts:

• Yes, the timing must be right to pursue your dreams.
• Yes, you have to get the right obligations out of the way, like taking care of family, children, elderly parents, if that’s what you are supposed to do.
• Yes, you may have to finish the fight on the hard challenge that have come your way.

But once those have gone and you know the time is now, you have to get started on living the true purpose of your life.

• Do you ever wonder why certain people have a yearning in the heart to do something big?
• Do you think this is a universal yearning or do you think some people are content to be where they are in life?

It seems that for some the yearning is stronger or more real than others. I believe everyone is born with a purpose to fulfill in life that will leave the world a better place as a result. That task may be small or only touch one single life. But touching that life will cause a ripple effect that will reach out to places unknown.

I also believe that some people refuse to do what is on their heart. Knowing that there is a great thing to do, they refuse to answer that life calling and ignore it until life is over for them.

• You know in your heart that you are supposed to be doing more.
• You know you are supposed to be doing greater things.

I believe a life purpose is set in the heart of every person at birth. When you refuse to heed the persistence of that life calling, you live a life unfulfilled.

• Are you denying the call of your life purpose?
• Are you letting the past, or your fears, or unforgiveness, or confusion keep you from identifying what is great about you so you can start sharing it with the world?

I’ve been in settings where the most unlikely person got up and made a presentation that changed the direction of everyone in the room. Through very simple words or a brief exercise or by sharing a piece of art or playing a simple arpeggio, lives were changed.

What are you supposed to be doing with your life? When will you start doing it?

Resolve Conflict and Get More Done

Conflict in the workplace happens, even among the best of friends. That doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to resolve conflict and get a positive outcome from the situation.  A few steps should be taken as soon a possible so you can resolve your conflict and start getting things done again.  Here are some suggestions to help. 

#1. Don’t Wait. 

When conflict happens, take care of it as soon as possible. Don’t wait until it starts festering and getting out of control. For instance, if there’s been a miscommunication or a difference in how to reach goals, address these issues immediately.  Communication problems and goal ambiguity are two of the most common causes for conflict in the workplace. Knowing this is important because you can be more conscious of when these problems are occurring. Address these issues as soon as you realize they’ve occurred and you’ll prevent a small conflict from snowballing into a big one. 

#2. Get Clarity. 

When you’re in doubt about what’s causing a problem, ask question and get clarity. You can tell if someone is upset but you may not know why.  Instead of waiting, start asking questions.  Ask the other person what’s upsetting him or her so you can discover if there’s been a misunderstanding.  Ask about their opinion on the problem, it you’ve been misunderstood, or if you’ve misunderstood them. Just be sure to get clarity so you can clear the air.    

#3. Restate the Issues. 

A great lesson in communication is restating an issue that you hear to be sure you are clear on it.  To make sure you heard what was stated and that you and the other person are understanding things in a similar manner, mirror what they’ve said back to them.  An example is, “It sounds to me that you’re saying,” or “I understand you’re saying.  This will help bring  quick clarification and prevent real conflicts from sparking. 

#4. Be Ready to Apologize.  

Saying you’re sorry is not a easy thing to do. But taking the high and admitting a mistake or just being the first to end the conflict by offering an apology can go a long ways.  An apology goes miles towards lowering someone’s defenses. It doesn’t have to be long and drawn out; just a simple, “I’m sorry we’ve had this misunderstanding,” lowers the tension and puts the other party in a more compatible frame of mind.  

#5. Criticize with Care. 

The art of giving constructive criticism is necessary in the workplace. To give constructive criticism use the sandwich principle. That means you’ll sandwich any criticism between two bookends of praise. For example, “You have a wonderful way of motivating the team.  I think if you could work on following up with them regularly our projects will run more smoothly.  You know your team well so I’m sure they’ll be responsive.” 

#6. Share Expectations. 

Not knowing what the other person wants or needs can be the beginning of conflict.  Be sure to be clear about your workplace expectations if you’re the boss or the one carrying out the work. Use clear and concise language to avoid people misunderstanding you. Remember it’s okay to ask for clarification because you really want to be sure you’re understood.  

#7. Stay Positive. 

Nothing helps to beat conflict like a good positive outlook.  Even though you can expect conflicts to show their ugly face almost daily in the workplace, you can take the position to approach each day, task, and co-worker with a positive attitude. As a result, you’ll find that many potential conflicts will simply fade away.  Being position has a contagious effect so share that positive feeling with everyone and make the whole workplace experience a better thing. 

Still can’t get along?  When all else fails, don’t be afraid to ask for mediation.  Sometimes people just can’t get along or they just don’t communicate well.  This means working together is going to be extra difficult.  If a situation arises and the steps you’ve taken to remedy the conflict aren’t working, ask for help.  Many larger companies offer mediation services or you can bring in a superior to help clear up the situation.

Vital Leadership Skills in Changing Times

Organization leaders have to change with the times in order to effectively lead a company.  Identifying and getting information on some vital issues for organization change is not always easy to find. Yet, without this insider information,  leaders can find their confidence remains low when it comes to being able to be a real power broker who gets things done.  Here are several  business related issues organization leaders must learn about in order to build real confidence as a leader. 

Organization Development: Leaders must have the confidence to know how an organization is put together in order to be able to lead all parts of the organization. To simplify this concept, think of an organization like an automobile. You might know that you put gas in the tank when it’s empty, but if you don’t know that you also have to keep the oil clean and fill other fluids your automobile is not going to run correctly. The organization doesn’t run by one unit. Knowing how the organization functions as a whole is true organization development. Many leaders are not clear about this concept and find their companies and organization suffering as a result.    

Organization Growth: Similar to knowing how an organization is developed, a leader needs to have the confidence to properly grow an  organization. Organization growth patterns differ according to the different types of organizations. It’s important to design methods to forecast future needs of your organization or company in order to make right decisions for growth. Leaders without knowledge of how growth affects all aspects of the organization will find that some decisions result in dysfunction instead of increases.   

Systems Concepts: Another concept that few leaders have strong confidence in is really understanding systems concepts. This lack of understanding is easy to see when a leader seems to get hit by what seems like sudden changes in the economy or society that negatively affects their company. While it sounds complex, the basic explanation of systems in organizations is that every organization or group that exists is effected by what goes on around it. Another concept of systems is that whatever you do to one part of the organization will affect the rest of the organization.   

Power Issues: Some organization leaders lack confidence to know how to use power to get things done. Power can be gained through position or by having resources others desire. One resource is your knowledge base and knowledge really is power in organizations.  Having power means being able to reach goals, quicker and easier than those without the power. Gain power by being willing to use your leadership to take on high profile positions. Get your name out and take calculated risks that let you gain visibility.  

Politics in Business: Acting politically takes a lot of confidence. It means knowing when to speak and what to say when you speak. You have to understand change of command and when to approach one person over another in a business. Being politically savvy is important to advance your career as a leader. It’s important to understand business politics and be able to use your skills to influence others in a positive and effective manner.  

Build Networks: Leaders need strong networks of influence makers who can get things done. This is a part of the power and politics of leadership. Knowing people who have power is a key confidence builder for women leaders to use in order to move ahead.  Go to the right gatherings where you can be in the company of people who have contacts and information you need to get your goals met. Be willing to stand out from the crowd and make your mark as a risk taker worth knowing.  

Look the part: Your physical appearance is a visual way to show your confidence as a leader. You have to look like a leader to be considered a leader. That means dressing for the part at all times; and even a trip to the grocery store means dressing to impress. That doesn’t mean a woman in leadership has to wear high heels all of the time but it does mean being well groomed with a style that says “professional.” Take time to create a professional wardrobe that you can count on to take you to any occasion at any time of day.  

Each of the issues presented above can be quite complex in nature. Some can take years to master when you try to do this alone. But taking time to learn important organization issues will build your confidence to be a leader who gets things done in an effective manner. You will feel less intimidated by others, you will move easier in the high powered world of leadership and your self confidence will greatly increase in your role as an organizational leader.

How to Build Employee Confidence

As a leader in business you always need to know how to build the levels of confidence in your employees. The good news is that staying confident is something that you can help employees do. These tips give you specific ways that you can develop employee abilities and increase their self awareness for the benefit of the company.   

Listening is one of the most important skills for any leader to develop. It is more important than speaking skills. Listening forms the foundation for good interaction between leaders and employees and even gives you resources for making presentations to your people. Learn to listen to the people who work for you. Then let them know you were listening as you appropriate communicate using their words, ideas, and suggestions.

A confident employee is prepared for the tasks assigned. Preparation means having the right training and support in order to complete what’s expected with confidence.  Provide your employees with opportunities to upgrade their skills so they stay on the cutting edge in their field.

Employees become more confident when they have a mentor. A mentor is a person who has wisdom to share in personal and professional levels. Employees won’t learn everything just by doing it.  It’s the nuances of company life that have to be learned from a mentor that are so important.  Research shows that women and minorities seldom get adequate mentoring in organizations. Be aware of where you can serve as a mentor to those who are building the firm.

A confident leader will network with people in the organization.  That doesn’t mean spending a lot of time with any one person or group. But it does mean taking time to shake hands with some workers, go to various departments for personal updates or writing a note of encouragement for a job well done to an individual or group or team.

Take time to assess the personal and professional background of your employees and realize how many skills and abilities they bring to the company. It’s easy to overlook skilled people when there are important tasks to be done. Instead of going outside of the company to find professionals, know who is already in the company and assign challenging tasks that highlight their capabilities. This will greatly enhance confidence and let others know you recognize the value of your employees.

Let employees stay on top of the latest technology and continue to increase the company positioning in pertinent areas. Expose them to courses that increase skills using the benefits of both Internet based and offline classes in almost any topic. Don’t allow your employees to fall behind in their professional knowledge base when it’s simple to stay ahead of the learning curve by getting them needed training and education.  

These brief tips provide important ideas that you can use to increase the levels of confidence in your employees. You can help your people become stronger workers and more loyal to the company by doing simple, yet powerful things that let them know you care.