The ABC's of Leadership
A Highly Opinionated List
By Ann Depta
A is for Art. Leadership is an Art, not a Science. One of my favorite quotes about Leadership is by Peter Koestenbaum: “Leadership is the art of combining results and heart. Leadership means getting where you want to go, but it is equally concerned with matters of the heart.”
B is for Boss. You will not succeed as a leader unless you learn to manage up. If you sink into a blaming mode regarding your boss, which many people do, you’ll never empower yourself to become a strong leader. I am not talking about insincere flattery, but rather building rapport with your boss in the same way as you would any other colleague. Your boss is human too.
C is for Communication. Poor communication is the cause of more organizational problems than just about anything else. If you’re an extrovert you need to learn to communicate concisely and to the point. And you don’t have to express everything you’re thinking. If you’re an introvert you need to take those conversations that you’re having in your head and put them out there. Also “The meaning of communication is the response you get.” If you got the “wrong” response, figure out a way to communicate your wishes more effectively, rather than blaming the receiver.
D is for Development. Leaders develop their employees through coaching and mentoring. External leadership coaches can help, but there is no substitute for your time.
E is for Enthusiasm. If you don’t demonstrate enthusiasm for your company and the deliverables of your group, how do you expect your employees to be enthusiastic and motivated?
F is for Focus. Leaders must develop a clear vision, mission and goals and frequently remind their followers of what these are.
G is for Growth. How does one grow? Through self-awareness, which comes from curiosity, reflection, feedback and seeking new experiences. Growth also comes from having the ability to share with others your true self.
H is for Health. Strong leaders need to be healthy in body, mind and spirit. Right food, right thoughts and right exercise.
I is for Integrity. We only need to look around at the so-called “leadership” in our corporations and political organizations to see that integrity has been sorely lacking in our culture. Each of us must model integrity ourselves if we want this to change.
J is for Judgment. This is tied to integrity. Good judgment comes from demonstrating authenticity and truth telling. It requires that one learns from experience and applies logic to decisions.
K is for Kindness. This may be an unusual word to apply in corporate America, but it is essential in developing a healthy culture in which members are rewarded for helping each other rather than backstabbing each other.
L is for Listening. Communication is two-sided. Listening is way more important than talking. Being an effective listener is a skill that can be learned.
M is for Motivation. Experts tell you that you can’t motivate someone else, but you can and should establish an environment in which people will be motivated to contribute their gifts.
N is for Networking. Powerful leaders build alliances with others both within and outside the organization.
O is for Ownership. True leaders never live in the Blame Frame. They take ownership for problems and they listen to feedback without becoming defensive. I call this living in the Aim Frame.
P is for Performance. How clear are your performance expectations to your direct reports? How do you measure and reward performance? Most organizations do that financially. What other ways do you reward?
Q is for Quality. Leaders require, expect and reward quality products and processes.
R is for Rapport. One of the primary keys to effective leadership is developing the ability to have rapport with others. This may or may not include empathy, but learning to have empathy is a huge plus.
S is for Service. The concept of Servant Leadership is not discussed much lately, but we need it now more than ever. The premise of this kind of leadership is that you are there to serve your employees, not the other way around.
T is for Teambuilding. You are not going to succeed without your team. Learn how to build a cohesive team. To understand what teams should look like, read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, the best book on team development that I’ve ever come across.
U is for Understanding. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
V is for Vision. Leaders need to articulate and communicate a vision. Frequently that vision is determined by being developed jointly with the group.
W is for Worth. Do you enable your employees to develop self-worth or do you gradually cause it to go into decline?
X is for Example. (Sorry about that.) What kind of example are you setting for your employees? Do you say one thing and do another? For example, do you espouse balance yet you’re always the last one to leave after a 14-hour day?
Y is for Yaw. To yaw is to swerve off course. All of us do that at one time or another. The way to stay on course is to solicit feedback regularly and to receive it non-defensively.
Z is for Zone. Athletes speak of being in the “zone”. And leaders can learn to be there too. You know you’re in the zone when everything is working for you just the way it should. That is no accident. Learn to visualize when you’ve been in the zone in the past and anchor that for yourself as you face future situations.