The
Most Successful Leaders Do 15 Things Automatically, Every Day
Leadership is learned behavior that
becomes unconscious and automatic over time. For example, leaders can
make several important decisions about an issue in the time it takes others to
understand the question. Many people wonder how leaders know how to
make the best decisions, often under immense pressure. The process of
making these decisions comes from an accumulation of experiences and encounters
with a multitude of difference circumstances, personality types and unforeseen
failures. More so, the decision making process is an acute understanding
of being familiar with the cause and effect of behavioral and circumstantial
patterns; knowing the intelligence and interconnection points of the
variables involved in these patterns allows a leader to confidently make
decisions and project the probability of their desired outcomes.
The most successful leaders are instinctual decision makers. Having
done it so many times throughout their careers, they become immune to the
pressure associated with decision making and extremely intuitive about the
process of making the most strategic and best decisions. This is why most
senior executives will tell you they depend strongly upon their “gut-feel” when
making difficult decisions at a moment’s notice.
Beyond
decision making, successful leadership across all areas becomes learned and
instinctual over a period of time. Successful leaders have learned the mastery
of anticipating business patterns, finding opportunities in pressure
situations, serving the people they lead and overcoming hardships.
No wonder the best CEOs are paid so much money. In 2011, salaries
for the 200 top-paid CEOs rose 5 percent to a median $14.5 million per year,
according to a study by compensation-data company Equilar for The New York
Times.
If
you are looking to advance your career into a leadership capacity and / or
already assume leadership responsibilities – here are 15 things you must do
automatically, every day, to be a successful leader in the workplace:
1.
Make Others Feel Safe to Speak-Up
Many times leaders
intimidate their colleagues with their title and power when they walk into a
room. Successful leaders deflect attention away from themselves and
encourage others to voice their opinions. They are experts at making others feel
safe to speak-up and confidently share their perspectives and
points of view. They use theirexecutive
presence to create an approachable environment.
2.
Make Decisions
Successful leaders are
expert decision makers. They either facilitate the dialogue
to empower their colleagues to reach a strategic conclusion or they do it
themselves. They focus on “making things happen” at all times – decision
making activities that sustain progress. Successful leaders have
mastered the art of politicking and thus don’t waste their time on issues that
disrupt momentum. They know how
to make 30 decisions in 30 minutes.
3.
Communicate Expectations
Successful leaders are
great communicators, and this is especially true when it comes to “performance
expectations.” In doing so, they remind their colleagues of the
organization’s core values and mission statement – ensuring that their vision
is properly translated and actionable objectives are properly executed.
I had a boss that managed
the team by reminding us of the expectations that she had of the
group. She made it easy for the team to stay focused and on
track. The protocol she implemented – by clearly communicating
expectations – increased performance and helped to identify those on the team
that could not keep up with the standards she expected from us.
4.
Challenge People to Think
The most successful leaders
understand their colleagues’ mindsets, capabilities and areas for
improvement. They use this knowledge/insight to challenge their teams to
think and stretch them to reach for more. These types of leaders
excel in keeping their people on their toes, never allowing them to get
comfortable and enabling them with the tools to grow.
If you are not thinking,
you’re not learning new things. If you’re not learning, you’re not
growing – and over time becoming irrelevant in your work.
5.
Be Accountable to Others
Successful leaders allow
their colleagues to manage them. This doesn’t mean they are allowing
others to control them – but rather becoming accountable to assure they are
being proactive to their colleagues needs.
Beyond just mentoring and
sponsoring selected employees, being accountable to others is a sign that your
leader is focused more on your success than just their own.
6.
Lead by Example
Leading by example sounds
easy, but few leaders are consistent with this one. Successful
leaders practice what they preach and are mindful of their actions. They know
everyone is watching them and therefore are incredibly intuitive about
detecting those who are observing their every move, waiting to detect a performance
shortfall.
7.
Measure & Reward Performance
Great leaders always have a
strong “pulse” on business performance and those people who are the performance
champions. Not only do they review the numbers and measure performance ROI,
they are active in acknowledging hard work and efforts (no matter the
result). Successful leaders never take consistent performers
for granted and are mindful of rewarding them.
8.
Provide Continuous Feedback
Employees want their
leaders to know that they are paying attention to them and they appreciate any
insights along the way. Successful leaders always provide feedback and
they welcome reciprocal feedback by creatingtrustworthy relationships with their
colleagues.. They understand the power of perspective and have
learned the importance of feedback early on in their career as it has served
them to enable workplace advancement.
9.
Properly Allocate and Deploy Talent
Successful leaders know
their talent pool and how to use it. They are experts at activating the
capabilities of their colleagues and knowing when to deploy their unique skill
sets given the circumstances at hand.
10.
Ask Questions, Seek Counsel
Successful leaders ask
questions and seek counsel all the time. From the outside, they appear to
know-it-all – yet on the inside, they have a deep thirst for knowledge and
constantly are on the look-out to learn new things because of their commitment
to making themselves better through the wisdom of others.
11.
Problem Solve; Avoid Procrastination
Successful leaders tackle
issues head-on and know how to discover the heart of the matter at
hand. They don’t
procrastinate and thus become incredibly proficient at
problem solving; they learn from and don’t avoid uncomfortable circumstances
(they welcome them).
Getting ahead in life is
about doing the things that most people don’t like doing.
12.
Positive Energy & Attitude
Successful leaders create a
positive and inspiring workplace culture. They know how to set the tone
and bring an attitude that motivates
their colleagues to take action. As such, they are
likeable, respected and strong willed. They don’t allow failures to
disrupt momentum.
13.
Be a Great Teacher
Many employees in the
workplace will tell you that their leaders have stopped being
teachers. Successful leaders never stop teaching because they are
so self-motivated to learn themselves. They use teaching to keep their
colleagues well-informed and knowledgeable through statistics, trends, and
other newsworthy items.
Successful leaders take the
time to mentor their colleagues and make the investment to sponsor those who
have proven they are able and eager to advance.
14.
Invest in Relationships
Successful leaders don’t
focus on protecting their domain – instead they expand it by investing in
mutually beneficial relationships. Successful leaders associate themselves with
“lifters and
other leaders” – the types of people that can broaden their sphere of influence.
Not only for their own advancement, but that of others.
15.
Genuinely Enjoy Responsibilities
Successful leaders love
being leaders – not for the sake of power but for the meaningful and purposeful
impact they can create. When you have reached a senior level of
leadership – it’s about your ability to serve others and this can’t be accomplished
unless you genuinely enjoy what you do.
In the end, successful
leaders are able to sustain their success because these 15 things ultimately
allow them to increase the value of their organization’s brand – while at the
same time minimize the operating risk profile. They serve as the
enablers of talent, culture and results.
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