L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P: What Does It Mean To You?
By Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter
L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P.
Leaders….
- Leaders don’t inform people. They energize people to participate.
- Leaders don’t formulate. They “imaginate.”
- Leaders don’t formulate culture. They initiate an environment that creates culture.
- Leaders don’t pass information along. They foster the growth and application of information.
L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P.
10 Traits of Effective Leaders
Listening: Leaders take the time to listen to what is being said and more importantly to what is not being said. Create an environment that fosters dialogue at all levels. Create an environment that encourages people to share their opinions with you the leader, instead of complaining to others.
Empowerment: High-performing teams make their own decisions. They know what the vision and the goals of the organization are. They’re encouraged and supported in making their own decisions. Does each member of your team fully understand the vision and goals of your organization?
Attitude: Leaders understand how much attitude can and does impact the performance of the team. The skills and knowledge of a team will never be fully realized unless the team has a success-oriented attitude. Organizations adopt the style of the leader and in turn, the attitude of the leader quickly becomes the attitude of the organization. When leaders fail to embrace a people-oriented, growth attitude, they become managers of a process. Leaders know their attitude is on display at all times.
Driven: Leaders do not allow setbacks to become permanent. Rather they use setbacks as stepping stones to accomplish the team’s goals. Leaders know people are watching them during difficult times to see how they should respond. It’s during difficult times when the leader’s true spirit comes through, and it’s this spirit that becomes part of the organization.
Encourage: Leaders never underestimate the power of the team and are always drawing out the best in people through their encouragement and support in large and small things. Encouragement is an intangible, yet few traits are more important than the visual and verbal encouragement that comes from the leadership.
Relate: Great leaders understand the personal and professional sides of their organizations and they understand how both interact with each other. Leaders allow themselves to become exposed on their personal side. This allows people to know how to relate to them and in turn, how the leader relates to the organization.
Simplify: Today information is overloading everything and everybody. Leaders know how to prevent information from complicating tasks and they work to streamline processes. Just as important is the simplification of the tasks at hand. This is achieved when everyone knows and understands the objectives of the team and its purpose.
Helpful: Leaders are never too busy not to help, nor are they too proud not to help. True leaders help people in all kinds of situations. However, leaders also know when not to help and allow the team and the individuals to achieve the satisfaction of accomplishing the task themselves.
Imagination: Leaders dream and, more importantly, they allow others to dream with them. Through this process, they allow the organization to move to a higher level through the use and application of imagination as a leadership tool.
Passion: Nothing determines the level of output more than the passion exhibited by the team, and this starts with the leader. Without demonstrated passion from the leader, there is no hope of the team ever achieving greatness. The level of output is directly related to the passion of the organization and each member of the team.
Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter, is author of “High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.” He is a consultative selling expert committed to helping individuals and companies identify better prospects and close more profitable sales. To get a free weekly sales tip, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com. Read the first chapter of his instant-classic “High-Profit Selling” here.
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