5 SIMPLE STEPS TO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

If you Google 'leadership book' you will find 425 million search results. 'Leadership program' will get you 447 million results.  I guess you can't blame people for feeling overwhelmed. I reckon one of the reasons people shy away from leadership responsibility is that they think it is hard. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be.

If we had to boil leadership down to its purest essence it would look something like this.

Care about others. Leading is all about helping others achieve good things, so being selfless or at least not being self absorbed will help. I once heard Wayne Bennett say "if you don't like people, then leadership is going to be tough for you".

Have a plan. Be prepared to say “this is where we need to go and this is how we are going to get there”. People want to see a clear and exciting vision for the future. Show them one and take them with you.

Get things done. Leading is about communicating but it is also about doing and getting results. Leaders have to back up their talk with their walk. Make sure that your time management and your commitment to planning mean that you get stuff done.

Shoulder responsibility. Show others that you are prepared to be accountable for what you and they do together. To make this even more effective, be crystal clear about what you expect from them, then hold them (and yourself) accountable.

Lift others. Somehow, leaders get others to try harder than they normally would. They are able to ‘lift’ performances because they understand what motivates others. They show others that they care. They grow and develop the skills of others.

We tend to over complicate most things, but if you want to be a more effective leader, KISS!