I think of it this way. There isn't a single problem
to be solved or an opportunity to be seized that doesn't require leadership.
Because there is no problem or there's no opportunity that can be addressed
without bringing people together to achieve something great.
And that's why we'll answer this question today --
How can I become a better leader?
I'm Randy Pennington, and thanks for joining me. Let's begin with a definition.
Leadership is the ability to influence the actions and outcomes of others in a way that
delivers positive results. The key words here are influence and positive results.
So, here are the first questions you must answer: How do you define effective and
how do you want to influence others in your role as a leader?
We'll explore the influence piece first because that's really about power. If you're in a
leadership supervisory or management position you have one source of power.
Positional power. And if you're looking for just simply compliance positional
power is a great tool. Just tell them what to do because you said so and then
tell them what will happen if they don't. Positional power also makes even your
suggestions carry extra weight. I discussed this concept with a CEO
client a few years back and he didn't believe me until he walked by a group of
people installing a new door in the office. The crew was over halfway through
with the job but they asked him - out of politeness - what he thought. And without
thinking, he just said "This is fine but I might have put it over there." And in less
than 30 minutes, there was a change order on his desk to sign because the door was
being moved to - these were the actual words - correct location.
Positional power, if you have it, never goes away and there can actually be times when you
might have to use it. If the building is on fire for instance, you aren't going to
spend time trying to involve and explain the need to exit. But, most people who ask
about how to be a better leader aren't really looking for ideas on wielding the
power of their position. They want people to follow them because they choose to,
not because they have to. And if you're one of those folks, you need to know
about another potential source of power, and that's the power of trust.
A study published by the Ken Blanchard Companies noted a high correlation between
trusting your leader and discretionary effort, a desire to perform, intent to
remain with the organization and organizational citizenship. Which means
that higher trust can actually influence being a better team member. So in other
words, being a more trustworthy leader increases the odds of you being a better leader.
One challenge however, is that people don't determine if they trust
someone in exactly the same way. We did a study a few years back about what causes
people not to trust their leader or not trust their organization. It collected
over 1,100 responses using a piece of software that categorizes those
responses to open-ended questions. You can find the survey results in summary
by clicking on the Positive Performance Leadership value pack link below.
That will take you to the page where you can download the survey results plus several
other tools for making you a more effective leader. In the meantime, here's
an overview of what we found. There are five factors that contribute to being
able to trust you as a leader.
One, character -- your personal trustworthiness.
People want you to be ethical and honest. And this one is critical because all
leadership begins with personal leadership. It doesn't matter how effective
you are with your communication or building relationships or being
competent in organizational leadership if others can't trust you as a person.
Two, competence -- do you have what it takes to do the job.
People are hesitant to voluntarily follow a leader into battle if they
aren't sure that he or she is up to the task. Now it's easy to take this to mean
that you have to be an expert in every area of the business. But that's not what
our experience and research suggests. You don't have to be the best at everything.
You do have to be competent at the responsibilities of your job or position.
Three, communication -- this one deals with your willingness to share and receive
information. And the belief of followers that you're being transparent in that
process. Don't take this to mean that you have to tell people everything because
you don't. You do, to be effective as a leader, have to share what people need to
know at the appropriate level when they need to know it. If they trust your
character and competence they'll trust your motives.
Four, consistency -- people want predictability
in your actions, responses, and decisions.
For instance, they need to trust that you'll react the same way in every situation.
They also don't want you to play favorites in a way that's discriminatory or unfair.
Followers need to feel that your direction or responses aren't going to
change on a whim.
And five, courage - people trust leaders who will do what's right
when it isn't in their immediate best interest. They want to trust that their
leader won't throw them under the bus. They respect those who protect and go to
bat for them when it would be easier or more convenient to look the other way.
So, which of these five factors will make you a more effective leader? That's for
you to figure out, and you can do that through self evaluation and asking for
feedback. Our research shows that a lack of, or ineffective communication, is the
number one factor that creates mistrust between people and their leaders.
If you're looking for a place to begin, that's always a good one.
We'll continue this discussion in Part II of this subject. It's the next episode and it looks at
the organizational aspects of being a better leader.
Make sure that you hit the subscribe button and that little bell to never miss an episode of
the Results Rule! show. And, as always, share this with your friends. Give us a like and comment
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And remember, the heroes in every marketplace are known by their results!
See you next time.