Posts Tagged ‘leadership realities’
10 Things About Leading You Won’t Discover In Books
There are many great leadership books out there and like many I love to learn from the insights of others. At the same time there are often some harsh realities that you never discover or are perhaps skimmed over in books and training.
- Creating a vision is actually pretty hard. For a few coming up with a clear vision which they are totally passionate about is really easy. For the majority coming up with this big aspiration is actually pretty tough.
- People don’t neatly fall into buckets. We all like to categorise people into certain buckets or types. You know the ideas of certain professions being creative, dynamic and extroverted while others are dull or boring. Some of this is reasonable but being too rigid can actually be counter-productive.
- Change is a lot less about process and a lot more about people. You can have the best tools, project plans and change programmes but if you can’t shift hearts and minds it is all in vain.
- Teams don’t always work in perfect harmony. In fact in some of the best teams there is what is best described as healthy constructive interaction.
- The figureheads or public facing leader are not doing it all single handedly. We can really easily buy into the belief that entrepreneurs and leaders like Richard Branson, Lord Sugar, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are doing it all. The reality is they are supported by great teams.
- The best leaders are all charismatic and extroverted. The reality is that some of the best are just quiet and introverted and let others take the limelight. They have a knack for looking to attribute success to others.
- People who are supposedly trying to achieve the same thing don’t always pull together. I noticed this a lot when I worked in the NHS where there was often a lot of silo working.
- People put the customer first. In reality people put their own interests first and what it means for them in many cases.
- People are great at spotting the problems but a lot less are ready to offer solutions. Anyone can find problems but not everyone can find solutions.
- Change does not happen overnight and in fact making meaningful and sustainable change is likely to be more like a marathon than a sprint.
If you have some of your own experiences to add why not go ahead and leave a comment?
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people become great leaders and managers. Sign up for his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk.
15 Myths About Leading
As someone who has extensive experience of leading and helps others to achieve success as a leader or manager, I am a pretty avid reader around the topic. While there are many great insights and words of wisdom, there are many myths too. Here are 15 of my favourites:
- Your ability to lead depends on how senior you are in the organisation.
- People will naturally follow you if you are at the right level in the organisation.
- You are born a leader. I have yet to hear about the parents of the new born being told in the delivery room that their little boy or girl has the leadership gene.
- You need to be an extrovert to lead. In fact research undertaken by Jim Collins for the excellent book ‘Good To Great’ suggests the complete opposite.
- It’s all about strategy, vision and long term. Yes this is important, but look at the financial pages of a good quality newspaper and you will see how much focus there is on short term. It is all about balance.
- When you become a leader your job becomes easier.
- You need to know the detail as to how things work. It helps but it can also be a barrier.
- You can cut back on your learning, development and personal growth. The reality is that learning is lifelong.
- It’s easy to please all stakeholders.
- You don’t have to make sacrifices.
- You can do it all alone.
- You need to be extremely knowledgeable.
- You need to be really smart. One thing you do need to have in spade loads is emotional intelligence.
- Being a leader and an entrepreneur are the same thing. As long as you are salaried and are not investing personally your risk is different.
- You need to keep collecting more and more academic qualifications. Often it is experience that counts.
Well that’s my list, what else would you add?
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. He invites you to take advantage of his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk
Common Delusions About Leading
As you are climbing the career ladder towards senior management and leadership roles, it can sometimes feel like you are doing all of the hard work while the more senior people are cruising.
While you will without doubt be working hard, some of the delusions I have noticed people having about leading include:
- In actual fact it is really tough. You can never really take your foot off the gas. Each time you achieve a milestone there is another one to tackle.
- What I found is that people only give you respect when you respect them. Status in itself does not mean guaranteed respect.
- The reality is that just like every other role there is a lot of routine. You also find that you are in response mode more often than you expect.
- Long days and leadership often go hand in hand. Each hour you have to allocate to work means one hour less to do something else. Sacrifice in my experience goes with the territory.
It’s Easy
People Respect You More
It Is All Strategic
You Don’t Need To Make Sacrifices
The Bottom Line: Leadership is not for the faint hearted so make sure you step into a leadership role with your eyes open.
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. You can sign up for his free audio e-course at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk
Leadership Lessons From The Upcoming UK Election
In seven days time, Britain will go to the polls and vote on who should lead the country over the next 5 years.
Without doubt whoever wins faces a challenging agenda. The run up to the election has provided some interesting lessons in leadership more generally. So what are some the key lessons.
The Demands Are Huge
Just look at the amount of time those seeking election have had to put into their campaign and if elected they will be expected to hit the ground running. Being a leader of an organisation is no different, everyone is looking to you for answers.
It Is Difficult To Please Everyone
I was listening to an interview with Gordon Brown on the radio where listeners of the local radio station were asked to put questions to the current Prime Minister. What I noticed is that rather than the questions being about general policy, people tended to ask about things that were very specific to them. If you are a leader in a large organisation, just think about the diverse range of interests you have to meet. In reality you cannot meet the needs of everyone.
It Takes Courage To Lead
We all have opinions and views about what needs to happen and what should and what should not be done. Being the observer or commentator is easy but stepping up to lead takes courage and is not for the faint hearted.
You Need To Make Choices
In the ideal world you would do everthing but sadly we don’t live in the ideal world. Any form of leadership relies on you making choices. Some of them will be popular whilst some will be unpopular but you need to be willing to make choices.
There Are No Quick Fixes
As a leader you want to be creating long term success. Sure there may be some quick gains along the way, but when faced with big challenges there really are no quick fixes, it is a long term project.
Bottom Line: Leadership can be both challenging and rewarding and it is key that you take the opportunity to continually learn to achieve long term success.
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. To sign up for his Weekly Leadership and Management Success Tips click here
3 Realities of Leading
Stepping into a leadership role is a significant step in just about every profession. Initially you feel excited and energised and appear to be going along on a crest of a wave. Sadly, much as we would like this feeling to last for ever, the realities of leading is somewhat different. So what are some of the realities of leading?
Reality 1: It is stressful
If you are leading, chances are you will experience pressure, worries, anxieties and maybe even stress. As a leader you need to look after yourself if you are to perform at your optimal level. Part of taking care of yourself is taking regular exercise and eating sensibly. I know from experience just how difficult it can be but it is up to you to make powerful choices.
Reality 2: People will look to you
As the leader, people will look to you for a whole host of things. These might include, for example:
- To provide clear direction
- To sort out problems
- To reassure people when they are worried or concerned
- To make things happen
- To communicate with them regularly and effectively
The question you need to be asking yourself is whether you are willing to take on this role.
Reality 3: The buck stops with you
Your job as a leader is to deliver results, consistently. If you do you will be rewarded well and progress in your career. If you don’t, chances are that you will find that you come under a lot of pressure to stand down or are may be removed from your post.
Are you happy with this level of risk? If not, then you need to think about whether leading is for you.
Bottom Line – Leading at any time is challenging. In the currently tough economic climate it is even tougher. The big question you need to ask yourself is whether you are ready for the challenges of leading.
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