Category Archives: Leadership

Leadership

Unlocking Organizational Value Through Leadership

For more than two decades, in many ways, in many forums, with thousands of leaders, I’ve taught that organizational results are limitless.

Those leaders who don’t understand this don’t understand the soul of leadership. When I say “soul”, I don’t mean it in a religious sense, but in a human sense, and not as a static entity but as a fundamental process that manifests the value inherent in all organizations. The soul of leadership is that which triggers and guides the best organizational activities to achieve the best results.

However, there is another soul at work here. It is the leadership soul of the individual leader. Again, I am not using the word in a religious sense but in a human sense, and as a fundamental process that manifests the human value inherent in each individual leader.

The leadership soul of the leader is that inner strength and commitment an individual draws on in order to carry out the activities of the soul of leadership.

Mind you, I am not counting angels on the head of a pin. The difference between the soul of leadership and the leadership soul of the individual leader is not a philosophical fine distinction. The difference may not be readily apparent, but it is manifest, and it is decisive. It’s a difference most leaders and their organizations are not aware of — to their detriment.

The soul of leadership looks outward, the leadership soul of the individual looks inward. Working in tandem, both outer and inner directed activities can notably increase the effectiveness of your leadership. When both the soul of leadership and the leadership soul unite, great things can happen.

That’s where limitless results come in. Most organizations have far more value locked up than their leaders realize. Those organizations consistently fail to tap the deep reservoirs of their members motivation, talent and skills. After all, most members of most organizations want to do well. In fact, in each organization, the members, naturally and collectively, represent an on-rushing current of ardent commitment to succeed. However, through misguided leadership, leadership that is tyrannical and micro-managing, leadership that coerces rather than motivates, that current can be blocked, impeding results.

The blockage occurs when leaders focus exclusively on ordering the establishment of surface drivers such as sales and marketing activities, logistical dynamics, organizational strategies and tactics, financial strategies and tactics, human resource undertakings, and the like — what business schools teach.

Clearly, the surface drivers are necessary in realizing the value an organization possesses, but they’re not sufficient. In focusing exclusively on the above drivers, leaders often neglect the deepest and most important realm of all, the realm which largely determines the success or failure of the organization, the realm of human relationships — what business schools don’t teach.

For example, I’m sure you’ve heard of the classic case of the railroads of the mid-20th century neglecting to understand they were in the transportation business and losing out to airlines in the passenger market. Railroad leaders did a fair to middling job of dealing with sales, logistics, administration, etc. But their hierarchical, top-down management structures and culture that viewed their employees much like rail cars to be pushed and pulled here and there, probably prevented them tapping into the immense collective value of those employees. If the employees had been empowered, motivated and unleashed, they would have brought a richer vision of market dynamics to railroads that could have forestalled their decline.

On the other hand, I know of a company that has consistently tapped into the strengths of its employees. In the 1930s, they were in the tea bag business. However, they didn’t see themselves in the tea bag business but in the materials’ business. As markets kept changing, their offerings kept changing and today, their tea bag paper products have morphed into hi-tech thermoplastics. They couldn’t have done it without tapping into the value of their employees.

There are many ways to unlock value in an organization. Those are not the purview of this article. The main point I’m making is about the leadership soul of the leader and unlocking its value.
Just as the results-potential of organizations are limitless, so the interior of each leader is a limitless world of value.

To unlock the value within an organization, leaders must unlock the leadership value within themselves.

What is this leadership value? It is the value you have simply being a human being. All human beings have a powerful capacity for transformation because they possess an innate capacity to direct a strong sense of determination and action in whatever direction they choose.

Furthermore, humans also have an powerful capacity to form and manifest deep, transforming relationships. And it is in the on-going transforming of relationships that you find and unlock the leadership value within yourself.

How do you unlock the value inherent in your organization and in yourself? Fortunately, there is a simple, powerful tool to do that. I call it the Leadership Imperative: “I will lead people in such a way that we not only get results but grow as leaders and human beings.”

Make this principle live in your daily actions, and you’ll be unlocking and unleashing great organizational value — as well as great value in your career and your life.

2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. – and for more than 21 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: “49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,” at http://www.actionleadership.com

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Brent_Filson/1911

 

Leadership

Making Your Leadership Your Life

Companies facing global competition are expecting more from all employees, more initiative, more innovation and more results.

Critical to meeting these expectations is leadership. The word “leadership” comes from a old Norse word meaning “to make go.” Leadership is needed in organizations to make things go, to muster and coordinate direction, ardent commitment and resource alignment.

Working with thousands of leaders of all ranks and functions during the past 21 years, I’ve seen that most leaders deem leadership as exclusively an on-the-job dynamic. They don’t see it as a life dynamic.

Companies seeking more from their employees must promote leadership that delivers more, and that leadership can only deliver more if it is effective both on and off the job.

If you don’t make your leadership your life and your life your leadership, you diminish both your leadership and your life.

The reasons are simple. The best leaders establish a deep, human, emotional connection with the audience. Why is that necessary to achieve organizational results? Leadership isn’t about getting people to do what they want to do. If people simply had to do what they wanted to do, leaders wouldn’t be needed. Instead, leadership is about getting people to do what they don’t want to do and be totally committed to doing it. These people have a good chance of achieving a lot more results, achieving those results faster, and achieving “more, faster” on a continual basis. One may tyrannically order people to get results, but the effectiveness of such leadership is not as consistent nor as substantial as having people make the free choice to get results. And people will make that free choice mainly in an environment in which deep, human, emotional relationships are developed.

Look at the leaders in your life. I’m sure you’ve been at the receiving end of both the tyrants and those with whom you’ve had deeply beneficial relationships with. Weren’t you more likely to go all out for those leaders who promoted an environment in which those better relationships flourished?

Clearly, that’s an environment one should seek to establish in one’s life as well. The relationships you develop as a leader can be similar to the relationships you should develop in your life outside your job. In my many seminars on the Leadership Talk, I have seen people use my processes outside their job, with their spouses, friends, and children, etc.

There are many values that should be promoted in our lives: trust, honesty, integrity, coming through on commitments, fairness, tenacity, tolerance, and more. Let’s “trust” as one example.

I believe we should live a life of trusting others. I call it “living in trust.” Of course, trust can be taken too far, and we may open ourselves up to be deceived and betrayed. My wife says I often trust others too much; and certainly I have paid in many ways over my life for such a propensity. But I believe that even though we may be deceived if we trust too much; we will nevertheless suffer more if we don’t trust enough.

Living in trust means extending trust without conditions until that trust is clearly betrayed. And then, depending on the circumstances, we may continue to extend trust even if it is betrayed. For when it is betrayed, we may not necessarily be the poorer for it. We may indeed be the richer; for without trust, we cannot establish deep relationships.

My view of trust in life can be extended to leadership. Leadership is about getting continual increases in great results. To do that, leaders must engender trust in the people they lead. In fact, great results can’t accrue without strong bonds of trust established between the leader and the people.

I’ve often said that it is better for a leader to have bought the Brooklyn Bridge for a nickel rather than to have sold it for one. People will not be led by you to do extraordinary things unless they trust you; but they won’t trust you unless they know you are taking the risk to trust them. In fact, many organizations get into trouble when the people don’t trust or stop trusting their leaders; and when their leaders stop trusting them.

So, trust operates both in our lives and on our jobs as leaders and must be cultivated both on and off the job.

There are many other values that should be manifested in both the life one leads and the leadership one manifests. The point is that when you make sure the leadership traits you carry out on the job are the very traits you live by in your life, you enhance the quality of your leadership and your life.

2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. – and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: “49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,” at http://www.actionleadership.com For more on the Leadership Talk: [http://www.theleadershiptalk.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Brent_Filson/1911

 

Leadership

The Seven Faces of Servant Leadership

The 7 Faces of Leadership

Most people can manage when things go well, but true leadership is how we cope with people when times are tough. Our expectations are often unrealistic and not centered on what leadership is really about. Too often people confuse a strong-willed personality as an effective leader. Leadership is not being strong-willed, rather having a strong sense of purpose and compassion. Too many organizations substitute strong-willed people for ethical leaders and see no distinction, because the people who put them in power don’t know the difference. Effective Leadership involves equipping people to live competently and confidently.

Effective leadership traits are as varied and numerous, not to mention subtle, as the human mind and heart themselves. No list will ever be complete, nor will it be the best suited for each individual reader. The bible gives some insight of the essential characteristics of effective leadership in I Corinthians, Ephesians, and 2 Timothy such as humility, integrity, focus, courage, discipline, compassion, and encouragement. The following paragraphs will place those characteristics into an organizational context.

The Humble Leader

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)

Humility is not just about our relationship with God but it’s also about our relationship with other people. Relationships are built on listening, to God’s Word and to each other. The relationship between a leader and follower is only as good as their ability to listen. The effective leader will not be a force of just personality and power plays but relationship oriented, centered on building and mentoring.

From and organizational context humble leaders invite feedback and turn lessons into failures. “The leader that is poor in spirit recognizes that many people know more than he or she does and, as such, shows respect to everyone.” (Winston 2002) Humility is acceptance of our human limitations coupled with the resolve to do something about it — I can’t do it alone so I will enlist the help of others. This is the essence of leadership.

The Honest Leader

“Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” (Ephesians 4:25)

Honesty is achieved through Discretion and truthfulness. Discretion keeps our minds and focus on sound judgment, giving serious attention and thought to what is going on. It will carefully choose our words, attitudes, and actions to be right for any given situation, thus avoiding words and actions that could result in adverse consequences. Truthfulness means being straight with others and doing what is right.

“It’s after we have contemplated our own actions, measuring how they align with our values, intentions, and words, that we are most likely to make a contribution of integrity to the world.” (Sherman, 2003) Discretion and truthfulness allow leaders to earn trust by being accurate with facts and situations. This doesn’t simply mean honesty, or acting in accordance with a consistent set of values. This also means integrity in the sense of soundness, completeness, and unity. Aligning our personality with our values and not compromising ourselves is the spirit of leadership.

The Focused Leader

Leaders must be willing to carefully explore their values and how they can move their organization in the direction of a vision that is unwavering. Effective Leaders lead with a purpose rather than “run like a man running aimlessly” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27). From the biblical sense this means that we live for His purpose, not ours. As Christians, we recognize that our need for Christ will bring us beyond our failures so we can grow increasingly effective for our Lord. As we grow in Christ, we will become aware of our futility and inadequacy as human beings.

From an organizational perspective, “leaders need to continually put the vision and mission (related to the purpose) in front of followers.” (Winston, 2002) Followers must understand the organization’s vision and know their role in support of the mission. They must know their purpose and how it contributes to organizational success, this is the soul of leadership.

The Courageous & Disciplined Leader

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7)

The goal of the servant leader must be to do God’s will. Otherwise we will be too afraid to go beyond our comfort zones to do anything of significance. When we are dependent on the Holy Spirit; then our self-confidence becomes rooted and dependent in Christ working through us. So we are not self-driven but Christ driven; resulting in our will to be in total surrender to God’s will as the driving force for our existence. When we’re aware that we are not responsible for the results of our leadership, but only the obedience to His call, only then can we persevere to press on to serve Him without the fear of failure.

Malphurs (2003) refers to courage as “the strength to lead in these difficult circumstances, meaning that courageous leaders are strong and unlikely to quit.” This kind of courage displays itself in an organization when a leader is willing to admit his mistake, when she is willing to stand up for her beliefs, or when he must challenge others.

Courageous leaders routinely get extraordinary results from their followers because they aren’t afraid to do what’s right. This is evident in Paul’s letter regarding discipline in 1 Corinthians 8:13, “if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” Conveying who you are, your goals and what you stand for can have a significant impact on follower performance and attitudes. Controlled discipline, according to Winston (2002), “draws people closer to you, whereas uncontrolled discipline drives them away.” Leaders and followers are two sides of a single coin and the actions of one impact the other. Courage and discipline are the armor of leadership.

The Compassionate Leader

The compassionate leader is rooted and grounded in the spiritual disciplines of faith. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes”. (Ephesians 6:11). With the power of the Holy Spirit and the conviction of faith in Christ, when we are modeling His image with love, we become a strong building with the foundation of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit who gives the realization to be our best for God’s glory.

“Loyalty and devotion to task and grow out of trust and the knowledge of protection that comes from the employment relationship.” (Winston, 2002) Compassionate leadership is acting in the interest of your followers, your peers, and your organization. This is the boss for whom the employees are willing to work their hardest. The employees can feel her support for them and are compelled to give their full support in return. This manager brings out the best in her subordinates by her own example. There is often a line of people waiting to join this department. This is the heart of leadership.

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Leadership

Spiritual Shape Shifting – Christian Leadership in an Amoral Society

Introduction

“…the moral elements are among the most important in war. They constitute the spirit that permeates war as a whole, and at an early stage they establish a close affinity with the will that moves and leads the whole mass of force, practically merging with it, since the will is itself a moral quantity. Unfortunately they will not yield to academic wisdom. They cannot be classified or counted. They have to be seen or felt.”
–Carl von Clausewitz
On War

The value system of American society has become increasingly more relaxed towards the rights and freedoms of individual citizens in establishing and living by their own values. “Morality” has become a dirty word in many societal circles as criteria for determining right and wrong. Leaders sometimes avoid spiritual discussion asserting that it does not impact effectiveness. We can certainly desire only to be effective leaders and describe and justify those traits that will lead to effective leadership. But if that is all we aim for, then we have removed the moral component out of that description and we should not pretend that the resulting traits are ethical. ‘The ends do not always justify the means.’

It is not sufficient that we allow our success to determine what the core morals are. This is because the way we act largely determines the kind of people we become. Since dishonest people and criminals do not live the good life, it would be irrational to act in such a way to become such a person. Leaders require integrity, discipline, accountability, commitment, innovation, and intelligence to inspire and direct others to achieve goals. While this is not intended to be an exhaustive list, nor a complete account of the leadership values, it does illustrate how one can derive and justify relevant virtues.

Leadership versus Management

“Leadership is a function, not a position.” (Lewis, 1996) There is a continuing controversy about the difference between leadership and management. It is possible that a person can be a leader without being a manager (e.g., an informal leader), and a person can be a manager without leading, or manage without subordinates (e.g., a manager of financial accounts). Nobody has proposed that managing and leading are equivalent, but the degree of overlap has been a point of sharp disagreement. The essence of this argument seems to be that managers are oriented toward stability and leaders are oriented toward innovation; managers get people to do things more efficiently, whereas leaders get people to agree about what things should be done.

The current research in leadership is overflowing with books describing the virtues of leadership. Recent authors include Stephen Covey, Principle Centered Leadership (1991); John Kotter, On What Leaders Really Do (1999); Phillip Lewis, Transformational Leadership (1996); Aubrey Malphurs, Being Leaders (2003); and John Maxwell, Developing the Leader within You (1993) to name a few. The argument with the most merit was John Kotter (1988), that “leading and managing are distinct processes…” and that to label people as either leaders and/or managers does little to advance our knowledge or understanding of leadership.

“The word ‘manager’ is an occupational title for a large number of people and it is insensitive to use the term in a way that fosters an inaccurate, negative stereotype of them.” (Yukl, 1998) Leaders and managers are not different types of people but rather the same people in different situations or processes. After reading Kotter, Yukl, Covey, Lewis, Malphurs, Maxwell, and the biographies of military leaders from throughout the ages, the conclusion seems very clear. While the models that examine leadership principles may change, these principles are timeless; this includes moral dimensions. “…leaders who know God and who know how to lead in a Christian manner will be phenomenally more effective in the world than even the most skilled and qualified leaders who lead without God. Spiritual Leadership is not just for Pastors and Missionaries.” (Blackaby, 2001)

Core issue: Moral, Immoral, or Amoral

“The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.”

–Sun Tzu

The Art of War

“Morality is a complex system of principles based on cultural, religious, and philosophical concepts and beliefs, by which an individual determines whether his or her actions are right or wrong.” (Wikipedia, 2005) For many individuals, morality is influenced, to a large degree, by religion or theology; but for others, secular and ethical codes are also followed. Religions typically hold that morality is not a human construct, but is the work of God. Such as in the Judeo-Christian religions, the Ten Commandments is held to have been issued directly to mankind by God. Non-religious individuals justify morality on the basis that helping humanity is itself fundamentally ‘good’ and base morality on humanitarian principles.

“Immoral” refers to “a person or behavior that is self-consciously within the scope of morality but does not abide by its rules.” (Wikipedia, 2005) The thief would agree that stealing is wrong but inconsistently try to excuse his particular act and shoulder the blame onto others by saying that he had no choice and so on. In day-to-day conversations, “amoral” and “immoral” are sometimes used interchangeably. However, “Amoral” must be distinguished from “immoral” in that “amoral persons either do not possess ethical notions at all as a result of an unusual upbringing or inborn traits (such as the so-called Antisocial personality disorder) or else do not subscribe to any moral code.” (Wikipedia, 2005) Someone may maintain that he will do as he likes and let others do the same, if they so desire, without turning this into a general principle. Because whoever says so only expresses his personal preference about the way he is going to act, the position is consistent.

Many organizations focus more on ethics rather than morals. Ethics is an intellectual approach to moral issues that asks questions such as how one ought to behave in a specific situation (for example, is abortion morally permissible?) Wether or not the claim necessitates a specific ethical stance is a matter of debate. As stated earlier, contemporary American society encourages members of its diverse population to establish their own values which leads to cultural relativism. “Cultural relativism is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture.” (Wikipedia, 2005) What follows is that a particular aspect of morality may be questioned or reasoned away, especially by younger generations in society. At times, this questioning extends to the society in general, even to the extent of liberalising laws which prohibited certain behaviors. Such as in the case of abortion, it’s her body or in the case of same sex marraiges, it not my business who marries who. Cultural Relativism also leads to a culture’s justification of immoral beliefs. Such as in the case of racial slurs; ‘It’s fine for blacks to use derragatory words towards other blacks in casual conversations or music videos but it’s wrong for a person of another race to do so.

US Military Value System

“If the theory of war did no more than remind us of these [moral] elements, demonstrating the need to reckon with and give full value to moral qualities, it would expand its horizon, and simply by establishing this point of view would condemn in advance anyone who sought to base an analysis on material factors alone.”

–Carl Von Clausewitz

On War

The US military has a responsibility to itself and society to set and adhere to high moral standards. This requires the kind of moral courage that is critical to successful leadership. It also models a healthy value system for a society that may be in danger due to its own abandonment of such traditional values. The military value system is based almost entirely on the laws that govern it, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The UCMJ applies to all branches of the military including the Coast Guard. Most of the issues covered in the UCMJ include: bringing cases to military courts, the different types of court-martial, treatment and apprehension of prisoners, and the trial process. Additionally, rules and regulations govern military behavior and standards of conduct. It is the very nature of military leadership to promote virtuous behavior for themselves and those who follow rather than passively follow the crowd that is liberalizing its values to accommodate contemporary social trends.

The professional military leader is stuck in the middle of this conflict between traditional and contemporary values, on one hand being a member of a dynamic society, and on the other hand called to lead in an establishment steadfast on traditional moral principles. But you may have noticed that people with military experience have certain intangible qualities. Things like self–confidence, pride and a sense of purpose. The military instills these qualities in enlistees because it makes them good people. By embodying such core values as Honor, Courage and Commitment; men and women build character and confidence, develop strong team skills, and learn to accept responsibility and accountability for personal actions. In the Navy, for instance, the same bedrock principles or core values of honor, courage, and commitment have carried on to today since the naval service began during the American Revolution.

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Leadership

The Listening Leadership Talk

For more than 20 years, I have taught the Leadership Talk to thousands of people worldwide. And maybe the most important thing I’ve taught isn’t about talking — at least the leader’s talking.

I’ve taught there is a hierarchy of verbal persuasion. The lowest levels, the least effective, are speeches and presentations. The highest levels, the most effective, are Leadership Talks.

I’ve taught that speeches/presentations communicate information; Leadership Talks, on the other hand, have leaders establish deep, human, emotional connections with audiences — indispensable in achieving great results.

Of course, the Leadership Talk is by definition about talking. But often there’s a more effective dynamic to employ: listening. Not passive listening — but listening for one purpose, so the other person gives you your Leadership Talk.

After all, it’s not what you say that’s important in a Leadership Talk but what your audience does after you have had your say.

And if they do the best thing not after you speak but after you listen, then you have given one of the most effective Leadership Talks of all — a Listening Leadership Talk.

The Listening Leadership Talk focuses on what other people are invariably interested in, themselves. (Who isn’t interested when they themselves are talking?) But here’s the key: their simply talking is useless to your leadership. It is only useful when their talk is the talk you need for them to give.

Moving people from talking their talk to talking your talk — and ultimately walking your walk –is the art of the Listening Leadership Talk.

Here are a few tips to make it happen.

(1) Use question marks. Asking questions encourages people to reflect upon and talk about the challenge you face. After all, we can’t motivate anyone to do anything. They have to motivate themselves. And they best motivate themselves when they reflect on their character and their situation and are also given the opportunity to talk about their reflections.

You may not like what they say; but often their answer is better in terms of advancing their motivation and your results than your full-stop sentence.

Furthermore, their answer may prompt them to think they have come up with a good idea. People tend to be less enamored of your ideas than they are of their own.

However, be aware of the difference between asking a question of somebody and questioning them. When asking a question, you communicate you’re interested in the answer the person wants; when questioning, you communicate you’re interested in the answer you want. And if the people you are interacting with think you are there not for them but for yourself, you damage the environment a Listening Leadership Talk can thrive in.

(2) Create a critical convergence. This will help you avoid the “herding cats” syndrome. Once you get people talking, they may be all over the map, talking about everything but what you want to have talked about.

Keep things on track by establishing a critical convergence, the joining of your enthusiasms and theirs so they’re as enthusiastic as you about meeting the challenges you face. Do that by understanding their needs as problems and seeking to have them voice solutions to those problems, solutions that advance your leadership concerns.

For instance, at a police academy classroom, the instructor passed a note to one of the recruits. It read, “CLEAR THIS CLASSROOM OUT NOW!” The recruit started shouting, “Everybody out of the room!” People looked confused. A few left. The remainder stayed. The instructor gave the note to another recruit, who pleaded, “Please, everybody out.” Still, people remained there. Then the instructor gave a note to a third recruit, who developed a Listening Leadership talk by creating a critical convergence. He asked, “What time is it?” “Quarter to twelve,” someone answered. The recruit with the note simply shrugged and in the silence, let the idea emerge. “Lunch break!” the recruits called in unison and quickly cleared the room.

Creating a critical convergence establishes and environment in which the Listening Leadership flourishes.

(3) Develop a Leadership Contract. This may be written — from a few ideas scribbled on a scrap of paper to a more formal typed version calling for your signatures — or the Contract may simply be an oral agreement, sealed with a handshake. Clearly, it’s not a legal instrument — nor should it embody legalese. It’s just a spelling out of the leadership actions you both agree must be taken to accomplish your goal.

Here’s the key: The best way to get that agreement is first to have them talk about actions they propose to take. Make sure they describe precise, physical actions. And not just any actions but leadership actions. Discourage them from talking about how they’ll be doing tasks. Instead, encourage them to talk about how they’ll be taking leadership of those tasks. (There is a big difference in terms of results generated between doing and leading.) Then ask how they need to be supported in those actions. Finally, ask them how those actions should be monitored and evaluated. In getting answers to these questions, you’ll be putting together a Leadership Contract by giving a Listening Leadership Talk.

The Leadership Talk is the greatest leadership tool. But the tool has its gradations of effectiveness. Often your talking is not as effective as your audience’s talking. When your Leadership Talk comes out of their mouths, not your mouth, you may find you are raising your leadership effectiveness to much higher levels.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box, and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. – and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results.

Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: “49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,” at http://www.actionleadership.com

More about the Leadership Talk: [http://www.theleadershiptalk.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Brent_Filson/1911