How to Be a Leader at Work
by Tag and Catherine Goulet -
Most organizations
have at least one person who is a natural leader.
When it is announced she will be leading a new
team, employees line up to join. When he asks
for a volunteer for an assignment, people jump
at the chance. Employees turn to her as a mentor,
or look to him as a role model.
Meanwhile, others
in the organization are struggling to do their
job with too few human resources. So how do natural
leaders do it? What is their secret to
getting people to go the extra mile for them?
Although many
effective leaders are naturally charismatic, there
are a number of leadership behaviours that can
be adopted by anyone who wants to have greater
support from other people. While some leadership
techniques may sound manipulative, a wise leader
knows the best results come from having people
provide their support willingly.
As U.S. President
and General Dwight D. Eisenhower defined it:
Leadership
is the art of getting someone to do something
you want done because he wants to do it.
Dwight
D. Eisenhower
People naturally
want to follow a good leader. After meeting with
an effective leader it is not unusual to feel
uplifted, inspired and motivated to work towards
a common goal.
Effective leaders
make others feel good about themselves as well
as the work they are doing. The leader has a vision
of what she wants to achieve and can communicate
that vision to others in a way that makes people
want to be part of it.
One thing a good
leader typically does is to communicate the big
picture, so that each employee can see how the
particular role he plays makes a contribution
to the final result.
In a recent study
of employees at all levels in companies of all
sizes, Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, authors
of Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em, found that “meaningful
work, making a difference and a contribution”
was one of the top three reasons given by 90%
of employees when asked why they remain at a company.
(The other reasons cited among the top three were
“career growth, learning and development” and
“exciting work and challenge.”)
When someone understands
why a job that might otherwise be considered menial
is important, that person is likely to be both
more committed and more productive.
People are also
likely to follow leaders they see as positive
role models. If a leader demonstrates a strong
belief in something, it inspires others to work
towards the leader’s vision, even when a situation
might appear to be almost hopeless. An excellent
example of a leader who faced this type of situation
is Lee Iacocca. When Chrysler’s fortunes reached
a low in the 1980s, he cut his salary to £1
per year to prove his conviction that things would
get better. They did. Under his leadership, the
company flourished.
Good leaders not
only “walk the walk”, they “talk the talk”. When
they speak about the future, they are positive
and upbeat. Mark Victor Hansen, a successful motivational
speaker and co-author of the Chicken Soup
for the Soul books, said that even in the
early days of his career, if someone asked how
he was doing he always responded that he was doing
fabulously. His enthusiasm won him plenty
of supporters who helped make his vision a reality.
Yet some people
feel the way to get support from others is by
telling them how grim a situation is, hoping that
will make them want to help turn things around.
On the contrary, Eeyores (those who sound like
the gloomy Winnie the Pooh character) may inspire
people to start looking for another job, rather
than work to improve the situation they are in.
If you have a
tendency to be negative, but want to inspire others
to support you in achieving a goal, resolve to
focus on solutions rather than problems. If Plan
A isn’t working, avoid bemoaning the situation
and instead come up with a Plan B. If necessary,
have Plan C waiting in the wings. Maintain a can-do
attitude and you are likely to attract people
who will support you in achieving your goals.
As well as communicating
their vision, good leaders know they need to communicate
“what’s in it for you” in order to have employees
go the extra mile.
They also understand
that different people are motivated by different
things. For employees motivated by a need for
achievement, a leader explains how the task offers
an opportunity to take on a challenging but achievable
goal. Those with a desire for power are told how
their participation can bring them prestige and
lead to greater opportunities. While employees
who are motivated by affiliation need to hear
how they will be part of a team of people working
together.
Effective leaders
also use techniques to communicate their belief
that each team member is important, including
remembering and using people’s preferred names
(e.g. not "Rick" if someone prefers
to be called "Richard"). As Dale Carnegie
observed, “the average person is more interested
in his or her own name than in all the other names
on earth put together.” Keys to remembering names
include paying attention when introduced to someone,
mentally repeating the name and using it in conversation.
Good leaders will
introduce employees by name first, rather than
job title. They refer to employees as team members,
associates, or colleagues – never as "subordinates"
– and make no distinction between "essential"
and "non-essential" staff or "professional"
and "non-professional" staff. Words
have power, including the power to make people
feel whether or not they are important to the
success of an organization.
Good leaders believe
that every team member matters and foster an environment
that makes everyone feel important. It is no wonder
they attract all the support they need to help
them achieve their goals.
Published with permission from FabJob.com. Visit www.FabJob.com to discover how to break into the career of your dreams
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