Know Your People
“The true genius of a great manager is the ability to individualise. A great manager is one who understands how to trip each person’s trigger.” – Marcus Buckingham
Time spent understanding people is never wasted. People are your number one asset and should be treated as such. Taking a genuine interest in who they are as a person makes people feel special. If a person feels special, they feel valued and if they feel valued, they will remain loyal and willingly ride out the most formidable of storms by your side.
Be the Inspiration
“The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” – Coach John Wooden
It’s difficult to inspire others to accomplish what you haven’t been willing to try. Be the kind of person that makes other people want to up their game. Energy is infectious.
Learn to Anticipate Problems
“The way to maximise the present is to anticipate the future.” – Unknown
The most successful leaders are able to forecast problems. This isn’t a matter of crystal-gazing but rather maintaining a watchful eye on unresolved issues that can shift your teams focus away from the bigger picture. Help others to mitigate imminent roadblocks early on and you minimise the likelihood of small problems becoming big problems.
Keep it Simple
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein
Gone are the salad days of the 80’s yuppies and high-ballers, when buzzwords were considered the “in” thing. Today, rather than impress, complicated and unnecessary lexicon only serves to alienate those around you.
Leave Your Ego at the Door
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” – Max De Pree
True leaders have a servant’s heart. The higher we rise, the more humbly we should walk.
Leadership is a Privilege
“Always remember that leadership is a privilege. When you’re in a leadership role, your influence may impact the trajectory of peoples’ entire career (and often life!).” – Bill Treasurer
Simply put, you hold the power to build others up or to crush them underfoot – choose wisely.
Jane Hands
Senior Facilitator & Quality Coach at Fuel Learning
