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Five Leadership
Secrets for Challenging Times |
by:
Ed Sykes |
We consistently
face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as
reorganizing, downsizing, and “left out sizing.” We are faced
with the question, “How do we lead in this storm of change?” It
may seem difficult at times and the decisions we make define our
short-term and long-term outcomes. I will share with you five
leadership techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during these
difficult times.
1 Integrity.
I put this first because the lack of integrity will make or break
you as a professional, as a leader, as a person in the long run.
The lack of this will turn yesterday’s heroes in today’s villains.
For example, “MCI was the apple of the business community’s eye.
High revenues, high profits, and high growth; MCI was beating
the competition hands down.
Then it was discovered that there were gross accounting irregularities
that accounted for the astounding profits. You see, management
made a decision, “Do I continue to sustain good growth and be
able to look at myself in the mirror or do I cook the accounting
books and spend the rest of my time covering up this integrity
deficiency? The real shame of the MCI situation was that AT&T,
Sprint, and others in the industry had to cut costs and lay off
thousands of employees to compete with MCI’s false numbers. The
lack of integrity at MCI not only affected the company but also
the livelihood of thousands and the industry as a whole.
I was recently speaking with a recently retired City Council member
who is well respected in the community. I asked her what the secret
was to her success while on the council? She mentioned that one
of her political adversaries said to her, “While you were on the
council, I didn’t like the way you voted, but I respected the
way you voted because you were consistent with your votes and
had the city’s best interest in mind.”
Ask yourself what decisions that you make are right for the long
term? Be consistent in your actions, whether it is with management,
your team, or your family.
2. Knowledge.
With change happening faster and faster every moment, it is extremely
important that you gain the knowledge to master these changes.
You owe it not only to yourself, but to your team and management.
As I always say, “It’s not having the right answer, it’s that
you have the right answer faster than before.” Many times during
my teambuilding programs a student will say, “I didn’t know where
to find the answer.” Then I will say, “That is an unacceptable
answer.” Because part of being a leader is acquiring the skills
to find the right answers. With the Internet, classroom and online
training, mentors, etc., the knowledge is at your fingertips.
Challenge your team members to use the same resources to acquire
the knowledge to master their challenges. By acquiring this knowledge,
you will be able to navigate your team through the ocean of change
and achieve your goals.
3. Decisiveness.
You have seen them. They wait for information, then more information
before making a decision. Then they need more information to support
the information they already have.Then they need a committee to
analyze the information. Then they wait for the perfect time to
make the decision.
Well, you know what I mean. Anyone you know? Make the decision!
Good things happen when you take action; you grow, you adapt,
and your team grows. There is no perfect time to make a decision.
Leaders make decisions based on past experience, putting into
action the decision, and staying and adapting the decision if
needed. But make the decision. The worst quality you can show
your team is indecision. What do you think your team sees when
you can’t make a decision? Make the decision and go for it.
4. Vision.
This is the ability not only to see what is the present - anyone
can do that - it’s the ability to see the future. Outstanding
leaders can not only see their team for what they can do now,
but what they can become, and paint the picture for them. These
leaders are consistently communicating and coaching their team
members to that vision. One of the best ways, and least used methods,
to convey your vision is the team meeting.
Every meeting should start out with the team vision, mission,
and goals; and the rest of the meeting should tie into the vision.
For example, the motivation portion of the meeting should tie
into the vision, the information portion of the meeting should
tie into the vision, the training portion of the meeting should
tie into the vision, etc. Also, invest time to develop your team
members’ personal visions and show them how they can accomplish
their personal goals by tying into the overall vision. By consistently
communicating the vision, your team will move with purpose, feel
they are personally making a difference, and achieve their goals
sooner.
5. Unselfishness
Stephen Covey, in his successful book Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People, wrote that a true leader must be a servant to the ones
he or she leads. The leader must be able to “give of oneself for
the good of the team.” In other words, be unselfish in words and
action. Be unselfish in praise of others, in public, especially
in front of management.
Be unselfish in the ability to take time to listen, really listen
to your team’s concerns. A recent management survey said that
the average time management invests doing “pure listening” to
employees during the year is a mere two hours- just two hours!
What was meant by “pure listening” time was listening with eye
contact, acknowledgement, and not answering the phone while listening,
not speaking with another person while listening, etc. Be unselfish
in the ability to help your team. Whether it’s the ability to
readily assist with a difficult telephone call, jump in and remove
road blocks for team members, or “be there” for a team member
during challenging moments. Believe me, your team will remember
those moments and excel for you.
Now I challenge you to put into action just one of the leadership
techniques I mentioned above to achieve your vision, your mission,
and your goals in the future.
Copyright © 2003 Ed Sykes. All rights reserved
About the author:
Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and success coach
in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress management, customer
service, and team building. You can e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com,
or call him at (757) 427-7032. Go to his web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com,and
signup for the newsletter, OnPoint, and receive the free ebook,
"Empowerment and Stress Secrets for the Busy Professional."
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