Good leaders don't over promise

Guess we've all seen the press in the last six months, and notice there have been quite a few countries running elections. Now the financial mess is starting to be better understood it will be interesting to see who made promises they cannot possibly keep. The voters of many countries in the next year may reflect and wonder what happened to some of these promises.

But more importantly as leaders of our own teams, are we vigilant when we make promises to our team members??

Before we make any promises, we need to check, do I really need to offer this? Am I absolutely certain I can fulfill my side of the bargain? What would be the difference in the outcome if I didn't make this promise? When we stop and assess the impact before we make any promises it will allow us to appreciate what it is that we are proposing.

Personally I know over the years many of my previous managers have promised certain things, yet as it transpired they did not have control to make the promises good. What was the result? Obviously some frustration, but the more damaging outcome was that their credibility was eroded. The next time such a promise was offered I was in no way as obliging to accept the challenge.

As good leaders we need to be sure that we can deliver on what we offer, because failure to do so will damage us greatly in the long term.

So next time you start to promise something take a moment and think - will this be a positive experience for all involved.

Leadership and the art of Engagement

We have spent time before about talking with your team. Know your team, their strengths and weaknesses and you can help everyone in the team to meld and become the energised team, ready to work towards the team goals. Our leadership success will depend on it.

So as the leader one of the arts we need to master is the how to engage with the various members of the team. Take the time to ask to initial question and follow it up some small idea of your own then build more questions to probe further. But engaging is more than just asking questions, at times we need to be the counsellor demonstrating apathy and understanding towards our teammates and at other times we need to also show our team members a part of ourselves.

While I've said we need to show part of ourselves when engaging with our team we also still need to maintain a certain distance, this is a very tough line to balance. The main game here is to establish boundaries and not be flexible about crossing these lines. I'm sure you know someone who is a bit too familiar with their boss and all of a sudden its difficult to see who is the leader and who is being manipulated. Leadership requires us to set this line and be firm if people are in danger of crossing the line.

Be sure to maintain the dialogue, set challenges, probe for better solutions and be sure to praise all positive work and actions.

Be firm and fair then you'll hear people comment to the affect you know where you stand . Most people prefer this position with their leader. Can you get yourself into this position?

The easiest leadership style to adopt - The Self-Confident Leader

We often here and see so much information on leadership styles and wonder what style suits us? Actually, probably several will fit you. As you want to improve your leadership style, this style is by far the easiest to make big inroads in a short space of time. It will still require you to be bold and take a plan of action but you will see most of us can relate to this style.

So what are we talking about when we say a "Self-Confidence" style of leadership? We are talking about your style that is probably most prevalent. A self-confident leadership style exist when we are acting as a leader in an area where we are confident we know much of the situation through support and learning or through the recognition of natural talent.

To recognise a leader utilising this style consider the following:

Do they follow a passion for that field,
Are they positive in their behaviour in this area,
Always supportive of others who seek knowledge or help in this field,
They want to build a point of difference in their expertise in this area, and
They speak out when required.

I expect we all know people who are like this and now you're aware, sit back and watch and you'll see people follow their lead. Notice as these guys are in their realm they are happy and positive and this is very infectious to those around them. These guys are acting as leaders in this area, of course many are not the managers or team leaders they're a regular person like you or me. However they are acting as Self-confident Leaders.

What is your area or expertise, what is the area you're most passionate about, this is the time for you to spring from these areas - the areas your confident in, and show your leadership potential. Speak out to ensure things are done right, help others learn about this area, be positive in your actions and talk then before you now it, you'll see others following your lead in this area. Give it a go and look to see your supporters lining up to help you.

Leadership the moving target

Being a leader means we need to adopt to the situation and use the right style at the right time.

Imagine you're at work and the boss hands out that special horrid job. How would you react and act in a positve way to lead the team through the job.

Now Imagine you're at the same work place and your workmate walks out behind the forklift, I bet this is much easier to determine the right way to lead.

And lastly Imagine you're still in the same place and the new guy is struggling with a complicated procedure.

So what can we take away from this, Great leaders can and do change their styles to suit the situation. Are you comfortable and prepared to switch from the co-operative leader for the first example acting as one in the team to share the burden and get on with getting the job done. Can you switch in a blink of an eye to adopt an authoritarian leadership mode and yell instructions in the face of a potential accident in the second example. Thirdly will you slow down to take the mentor and coaching leadership role for our final scenario.

The tough part of this is, is that there is no right way or perfect way to be great leader. Good leadership demands us to be capable in a number of roles. If we look into ourselves we can see that we are more comfortable with some styles than we are with others. This is the challenge for us to work and develop our weaker styles so they can be used as part of our arsonal of leadership skills.