“Leadership is Action not Position,” I recently saw this quote on one of those motivational posters. I didn’t pay much attention to it until recently, I always thought this was just common sense. How can you expect anyone to follow you if you have no idea what it is you are leading them to do?
Let me expand on why I am writing this for you.
Recently, I spoke with one of my mentors and coaches in my life, a man I have followed with undying devotion for many years. We were talking about what true leadership is (he is in a unique situation to coach and train many leaders across many sections of business), he wanted to know what my definition of leadership is.
I told him I felt leadership was simple to define and put into action. I summed it up with these attributes:
- Leaders have an undying faith in what they can accomplish, all the while confronting the brutal reality of their current situation.
- A leader never takes credit for anything, they give credit where credit is due.
- A leader always takes the blame for everything.
- A leader always surrounds themselves with people who are better than they are.
- A leader’s flock shows up every day to make their leader proud of them, they work for the leader first, their company second and their paycheck third.
My mentor dug a bit deeper with me and asked what I felt where the underlying fundamentals for these items to exist? My answer is simple; none of the items above can be achieved without the complete trust and respect from the people who work with you.
I am curious to hear from you — how do you gain the trust and respect from the individuals who work with you?
[Image credit: Bob Reck on Flickr]
Posted In: Small Business
